Y 


HIE 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ''^ 


Purchased  by  the   Hamill   Missionary  Fund. 


BV  3415  .M52  1900 
Michie,  Alexander,  1833- 

1902. 
China  and  Christianity 


CHINA   AND    CHRISTIANITY. 


CHINA   AND   CHRISTIANITY 


/ 

BY 

ALEXANDER  MICHIE 

AUTHOR  OF  ''MISSIONARIES  IN   CHINA' 


BOSTON 

KNIGHT  AND  MILLET 

1900 


Copyright^  igoo, 

By  Knight  and  Millet 


F.  H.  Gilson  Company 
Printers  and  Bookbinders 
Boston,  U.S.A. 


Introduction* 

A  FEW  words  of  introduction  to  this  volume 
may  not  be  out  of  place,  as  the  author  and 
his  writings  are  little  known  to  American 
readers.  Mr.  Alexander  Michie  has  been 
for  nearly  twenty  years  the  correspondent  of 
the  London  Times,  resident  in  Peking.  During 
that  period  he  has  enjoyed  such  advantages 
as  come  to  the  representative  of  so  influential 
a  journal.  He  has  been  brought  into  contact 
with  not  only  the  highest  of  Chinese  official- 
dom, but  with  the  representatives  of  foreign 
powers,  many  of  whom  have  been  prominent 
figures  in  the  game  of  Diplomacy  so  actively 
played  in  the  far  East. 

A  careful  observer,  and  a  close  student  of 
all  questions  bearing  upon  the  Chinese  problem. 


vi  Introduction* 

he  knows  whereof  he  writes,  and  in  this 
volume  has  discussed  with  rare  calmness  and 
sobriety  the  many  perplexing  questions  which 
have  culminated  in  the  present  deplorable 
outbreak  in  China. 

This  volume  was  published  a  few  years 
since  in  Tien  Tsin,  reaching  only  a  small 
circle  of  readers  among  the  English  speaking 
people  of  the  East.  Its  merits  entitle  it  to 
a  wider  reading,  and  there  can  be  no  more 
opportune  occasion  than  the  present  to  offer 
it  to  American  readers,  as  a  helpful  aid  to 
the  formation  of  an  enlightened  public  opinion 
on  one  of  the  burning  questions  of  the  hour. 

The  Publishers. 


PREFACE. 

A  PUBLICATION  which  meets  but  qualified 
approval  from  esteemed  friends  may  be  thought 
to  stand  in  need  of  an  Apology. 

There  seems  to  be  some  fear  that  the  ten- 
dency of  the  following  essay  is  to  widen 
rather  than  to  heal  the  breach  by  fostering 
Chinese  prejudice  against  Christianity  on  the 
one  hand  and  displeasing  an  influential  section 
of  the  foreign  public  on  the  other.  Beneath 
this  apprehension  may  possibly  be  a  latent  feel- 
ing that  as  regards  the  institutions  of  Christen- 
dom in  the  East,  the  rule  for  speakers  and 
writers  should  be  nil  nisi  bonum.  But  such  im- 
plied immunity,  if  ever  claimed  in  words, 
would  not  be  conceded  by  one  section  of  the 
Christian  Church  to  another. 

Fully  recognizing  that  there  is  a  time  as  well 
as  a  place  to  speak  and  to  be  silent,  the  writer 


Vlll 


Preface. 


considers  that  the  present  is  no  time  for  reti- 
cence respecting  matters  which  keep  the  rela- 
tions between  Chinese  and  foreigners  in  a  state 
of  dangerous  tension,  but  that  on  the  contrary 
it  is  just  the  time  for  plain  speaking  on  these 
burning  questions.  We  Western  nations  stand 
in  a  position  of  peculiar  moral  responsibility 
towards  China.  She  has  not  sought  us,  but 
we  her.  She  does  not  press  her  religion  or 
her  polity  on  us,  but  we  press  ours  on  her. 
In  such  a  relationship  the  onus  of  justification 
necessarily  rests  on  the  stronger  who  imposes 
his  will  on  the  weaker  ;  and  where,  as  in  the 
present  case,  no  competent  neutral  arbiter  ex- 
ists it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  aggressor  him- 
self, if  he  desires  to  be  just,  to  assume,  as  far 
as  may  be,  the  functions  of  such  ideal  referee, 
and  to  give  a  patient  consideration  to  all  the 
pleas,  substantial  or  flimsy,  advanced  by,  or  on 
behalf  of,  the  weaker  side. 

This  obligation,  which  has  been  understood 
and  loyally  discharged  in  regard  to  such  tangi- 
ble matters  as  trade,  carries  tenfold  weight 
where  moral  relations  are  concerned;  and  those 
who  resolve  to  support  religion,  among  an  alien 


Preface.  ix 

people,  by  force,  owe  it  to  themselves  to  con- 
sider well  both  what  they  do,  and  how  they  do 
it.  Errors  in  common  affairs  seldom  sink  so 
deep  or  spread  so  wide  as  to  be  irremediable, 
but  mistakes  in  propagating  and  establishing 
religion  may  quickly  pass  beyond  remedy,  and 
bear  consequences  beyond  calculation.  For 
its  transcendency  involves  misconception  and 
misdirection  ;  its  purity  gives  the  measure  of 
its  susceptibility  to  contamination ;  while  its 
hold  of  the  inner  feelings  of  humanity  diffuses 
and  renders  indelible  whatever  taint  it  may 
contract  from  its  surroundings.  Hence  the 
tenacity  of  opinions  and  observances,  even  of 
a  trivial  character,  which  have  once  become  in- 
corporated with  any  religious  cult.  Hence 
also  the  difficulty  of  religious  reform  as  com- 
pared with  other  kinds. 

Obviously  then  an  essence  of  such  subtlety 
demands  the  finest  tact  on  the  part  of  those 
who  have  the  handling  of  it,  in  whatever  capa- 
city. And  though  it  is  not  possible,  for  want 
of  a  competent  and  acknowledged  authority,  to 
protect  the  Christianity  as  we  guard  the  purity 
of  the  vaccine  lymph  which  is  imported  into 


X  Preface* 

the  country,  it  ought  not  to  be  too  much  to 
expect  that  the  grosser  elements  of  untruth, 
injustice  and  vulgar  strife  should  be,  as  far  as 
possible,  eliminated  alike  from  friendly  and  un- 
friendly association  with  the  introduction  into 
China  of  what  is  justly  claimed  to  be  the  crown 
and  consummation  of  the  world's  religions. 

To  those,  if  there  be  any  such,  who  think 
the  cause  of  religion  may  be  served  by  hiding 
any  part  of  the  record  it  would  be  difficult  to 
give  an  answer  which  is  not  already  patent  in 
the  exceeding  frankness  of  both  the  Hebrew 
and  the  Christian  Scriptures.  The  fear  of  tell- 
ing the  Chinese  too  much  would  be  in  any  case 
an  idle  fear,  seeing  the  books  of  history  and  of 
observation  lie  wide  open.  Who,  for  example, 
shall  prevent  them  from  discussing  the  episode 
of  Uganda  ?  The  recent  dictum  of  an  African 
missionary  that  "  influence  which  is  gained  at 
the  price  of  keeping  unpleasant  truths  in  the 
background  is  not  worth  having "  has  a  wide 
application.  No  lasting  understanding  is  likely 
to  be  attained  between  China  and  the  Western 
world  without  unreserved  communications 
touching  matters  of  fact,  and  the   dropping  of 


Preface*  xi 

all  hypocritical  pretences  on  both  sides.  No 
apology  therefore  ought  to  be  necessary  for 
even  a  perfunctory  effort  to  expose  misunder- 
standing, though  it  is  at  the  same  time  devoutly 
to  be  wished  that  some  competent  hand,  say,  a 
missionary  of  light  and  leading,  with  experi- 
mental knowledge  for  his  guide,  may  take  up 
and  develop  the  subject  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
the  great  interests  involved. 

The  issue  at  stake,  in  the  conception  of  the 
writer,  is  nothing  less  than  the  mode  in  which 
Christianity  shall  be  introduced  to  the  largest 
population  in  the  world ;  whether  it  shall  en- 
ter in  the  gentleness  of  its  true  nature,  like 
showers  on  thirsty  soil ;  or  with  storm  and 
cataclysm,  leaving  legacies  of  hate  to  future 
generations.  Or  rather  such  would  have  been 
the  issue  had  matters  not  already  gone  beyond 
the  bounds  of  so  simple  a  formula.  The  ques- 
tion is  now  practically  reduced  to  this, — 
whether  the  advance  of  Christianity  shall 
approximate  more  to  the  one  or  the  other  of 
these  alternative  modes.  Even  in  this  atten- 
uated form  the  subject  is  of  serious  import ; 
for  considering  the  flatness  of  the  Chinese  life 


xii  Preface. 

and  the  general  poverty  of  its  ideals  the  regen- 
erating force  of  Christianity  seems  to  be  the 
thing  of  which  China  stands  most  desperately 
in  need.  "  There  is  now  in  the  world,"  says 
Mr.  Lilly  in  a  recent  work,  "  what  we  may 
call  the  Christian  temper,  with  all  its  charities 
and  courtesies,  a  temper  of  self-devotion  to 
some  worthy  cause,  of  self-effacement  for  some 
high  end,  of  fortitude  and  forgiveness,  of 
purity  and  pitifulness,  of  generosity  and  gentle- 
ness." If  to  bring  the  Chinese  within  the  in- 
fluence of  such  a  "  temper "  be  an  object 
worthy  of  all  sacrifice,  it  behoves  those  con- 
cerned to  see  to  it  that  the  very  considerable 
sacrifices  —  in  money  and  in  precious  lives,  in 
political  principle  and  in  international  comity 
—  which  are  now  being  made  be  not  operating 
as  hindrances  to  the  desired  process. 

Needless  to  say  it  is  beside  the  author's 
purpose  to  discuss  Christianity  in  any  way 
whatsoever.  Only  the  vehicles  and  wrappage 
of  it  are  touched  on,  and  these  no  further  than 
seemed  necessary  to  clear  the  ground  for  the 
political  survey.  The  theme  is  not  "  China  " 
nor  "  Christianity,"  still  less  the  two  combined. 


Preface, 


Xlll 


but  only  the  thin  ragged  line  of  actual  or 
potential  contact  between  them,  external  to 
both.  So  much,  and  no  more  of  the  colliding 
surfaces  is  glanced  at  as  was  requisite  for  a 
superficial  diagnosis  of  the  collision.  It  will 
be  for  the  courteous  reader,  who  may  deem  it 
worth  while,  to  judge  whether  the  prescribed 
limit  has  been  overstepped. 

The  motive  of  the  essay  is  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  breach  of  continuity  between  the 
minds  of  the  several  high  contracting  parties 
under  whose  combined  authority  the  propa- 
gation of  Christianity  is  carried  on  in  China, 
and  to  suggest  the  want  of  a  more  harmonious 
adjustment  between  the  parts  of  a  complex 
politico-religious  machine  made  up  of  hetero- 
geneous elements.  The  present  is  a  natural 
sequel  to  the  tract  on  "Missionaries  in  China" 
published  last  year.  In  that  essay  the  promi- 
nence was  given  to  the  methods  of  the  propa- 
ganda ;  in  this  the  broader  considerations 
which  affect  the  policy  of  governments  and 
administrative  bodies  are  more  particularly 
dwelt  upon.  The  subjects  overlap  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  but  repetitions  have  been  as  much 


XIV 


Preface* 


as  possible  avoided.  The  notes,  somewhat 
promiscuously  thrown  in  while  the  sheets  were 
in  the  press,  have  been  culled,  with  scarcely  an 
exception,  from  casual  readings  after  the  text 
was  written ;  and  they  thus  possess,  for  the 
author  at  least,  a  certain  corroborative  and 
corrective  value. 

No  one  can  be  more  sensible  than  the 
author  of  the  lame  and  the  almost  negative 
conclusion  to  which  his  meandering  excursion 
has  inevitably  led.  The  fiction  of  looking 
through  the  glasses  of  a  jin-de-sihle  Chinese 
politician  is  clumsy  and  halting,  and  perhaps 
this  attempt  to  "see  ourselves  as  others  see 
us  "  attains  no  nearer  to  a  true  presentment  of 
the  reality  than  those  school-room  diagrams 
which  profess  to  show  how  the  Earth  looks  as 
viewed  from  the  Moon.  But  it  possesses  this 
advantage  over  them  that  it  can  be  tested  and 

its  blemishes  exposed. 

A.  M. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  I'AGE 

I.    State  Problems  and  the  Chinese  way  of 

SOLVING  them    .                I 

II.    Foreign  Relations 8 

III.  Foreign  Religion 14 

IV.  Exoteric  Christianity 25 

V.    Christianity  in  China 54 

VI.    The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition    .  70 

VII.    The  Taiping  Rebellion 93 

VIII.    Anti-Christian  Literature loi 

IX.    Christianity  in  Japan 108 

X.    Practical  Considerations 112 

XI.    Relation    of    Christianity    to    People, 

Literati,  and  Imperial  Government  .  138 

XII.    Administrative  Machinery 152 

XIII.    Mutual  Obligations 163 

APPENDICES. 

APPENDIX 

1 183 

II 190 

III 226 

XV 


Qiina  and  Qiristianity. 

^       ft|W       Jfl 

I. 

STATE     PROBLEMS     AND     THE     CHINESE    WAY    OF 
SOLVING    THEM. 

In  common  with  all  other  states  China  has 
to  grapple  with  the  two  problems  of  internal 
polity  and  external  relations;  but  she  treats 
them  with  a  patience  and  a  passiveness  pecu- 
liarly her  own,  which  has  constantly  to  be 
borne  in  mind  in  estimating  the  motives  of  her 
action  in  any  given  circumstances.  Foreign 
precedents  have  little  or  no  weight  with  China, 
and  hers  are  for  the  most  part  as  far  removed 
from  European  conventional  ways  as  the  East 
is  distant  from  the  West.  It  is,  however,  the 
misfortune  of  the  Chinese  Government  and 
people  to  be  weighed  in  a  balance  which  they 
have  never  accepted ;  and  to  have  their  short- 


2  China  and  Christianity* 

comings,  so  ascertained,  made  the  basis  of  re- 
clamations of  varying  degrees  of  gravity. 
Naturally,  therefore,  the  bill  of  grievances  from 
time  to  time  presented  by  foreign  nations  fails 
to  reach  the  conscience  of  China,  just  as  the 
unwearied  criticisms  from  without  on  her  ne- 
glect of  good  government  fall  absolutely  dead. 
The  want  of  the  receptive  faculty  renders  the 
result  of  all  such  representations  as  blank  as 
a  photograph  on  an  unprepared  plate. 

In  the  case  of  her  external  relations,  how- 
ever, force  may  be  and  has  been  used  to  supply 
the  lack  of  reasoned  conviction,  and  a  me- 
chanical compliance  with  Western  practices, 
within  narrow  limits,  thereby  more  or  less  es- 
tablished. But  so  far  as  it  is  against  nature, 
so  far  is  such  conformity  liable  to  break  down 
unless  the  machinery  which  produced  it  is  kept 
in  constant  motion. 

In  their  academical  discussions  foreigners 
usually  take  the  fullest  cognizance  of  this  state 
of  things,  and  those  of  them  who  do  not  come 
into  direct  contact  with  the  Chinese  are  per- 
haps disposed  to  make  even  undue  allowance 
for  the  hardships  of  their  position.     Those,  on 


State  Problems*  3 

the  other  hand,  who  are  placed  at  the  points 
of  international  collision  are  in  the  habit  of 
insisting  on  the  Chinese  people  and  govern- 
ment being  measured  absolutely  by  Western 
standards  as  the  only  condition  under  which 
working  relations  can  be  maintained.  Indeed, 
the  pioneers  of  commerce  and  Christianity, 
strung  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  zeal  for  the  suc- 
cess of  their  respective  schemes,  require  the 
Chinese  to  submit,  in  strict  accordance  with 
treaty  of  course,  to  demands  which  could  not 
even  be  named  to  any  other  sovereign  State. 
And  they  seem  to  expect  not  only  immediate 
compliance,  but  cheerful  and  hearty  compliance. 
Dr.  Griffith  John,  for  example,  in  his  able 
statements  of  the  missionary  case,  makes  a 
special  grievance  of  the  want  of  alacrity  which 
the  Chinese  show  in  obeying  the  behests  of 
foreign  powers.  Though  knowing  full  well 
that  he  and  his  cause  are  only  maintained  in 
China  by  external  force  overruling  the  settled 
policy  of  the  Government,  based  on  the  inter- 
ests of  the  lettered  class  and  the  convictions 
of  the  people,  he  nevertheless,  in  his  commu- 
nications to  the  papers  in  China  and  England, 


4  China  and  Christianity* 

makes  it  a  serious  part  of  his  accusation  of  the 
Chinese  Government  that  the  foreign  Ministers 
had  to  complain  of  the  great  difficulty  with 
which  they  obtained  the  promulgation  of  the 
Imperial  Edict  condemning  the  populace  for 
their  attacks  on  missionaries  in  1891.  Let  the 
case  be  imagined  of  an  alien  propaganda  in 
Kazan  or  Kieff  being  set  upon  by  a  posse  of 
popes  and  ruffians,  and  then  reflect  on  the  kind 
of  "  difficulty  "  a  German  or  English  Minister 
would  experience  in  obtaining  the  publication 
of  an  Ukase  condemning  wholesale  the  assail- 
ants and  lauding  the  strangers  as  immaculate  ! 
Though  China  must  be  held  to  her  engage- 
ments, there  always  will  be  a  difference  be- 
tween the  manner  of  fulfilment  of  a  voluntary 
obligation  and  of  compliance  with  one  imposed 
by  force,  especially  if  it  runs  counter  to  na- 
tional feeling ;  and  there  is  wisdom  in  frankly 
recognizing  what  cannot  in  any  case  be  disputed 
or  altered.^ 

1  The  despatches  of  the  British  Minister  pubhshed  in  the 
Riots  Blue  Book,  1892,  and  the  press  criticisms  thereon,  are 
pitched  in  the  same  tone  of  astonishment  at  the  reluctance  and 
insincerity  of  the  Chinese  —  as  if  these  were  quite  new  discov- 
eries! 


State  Problems.  5 

Perhaps,  however,  all  these  pioneers  are 
right,  for  life  to  each  one  of  them  is  too  short 
to  wait  for  the  Chinese  mind  to  be  educated 
up  to  the  point  of  willing  assent  to  their  vari- 
ous aggressive  pretensions  ;  and  too  short  for 
them  even  to  attempt  to  comprehend  the 
Chinese  way  of  looking  at  things.  Hence, 
with  them,  "  force,"  in  its  most  direct  form, 
is  the  only  "  remedy  "  within  reach.  While, 
however,  admitting  that  such  may  be  the  only 
safe  and  practical  ground  which  the  advanced 
guards  of  foreigners  can  wisely  take  up,  in  the 
actual  circumstances,  there  is  behind  and  around 
them,  though  aloof  from  the  heat  and  dust  of 
the  struggle,  a  whole  atmosphere  of  opinion 
of  varying  density  in  which  ideas  are  generated 
as  clouds  are  formed  in  the  clefts  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  where  influences  slowly  gather  which 
eventually  shape  the  ends  of  the  toilers  in  the 
valleys,  rough  hew  them  how  they  may.  Such 
phenomena,  merely  to  take  two  current  in- 
stances, as  the  anti-opium  and  the  Indian 
factory  labour  agitations  which  are  fermenting 
in  England,  and  seemingly  gaining  force,  with- 
out reference  to  the  interests  or  opinions  of  the 


6  China  and  Christianity* 

parties  directly  concerned,  may  serve  to  re- 
mind all  classes  of  men  who  are  too  much 
absorbed  in  their  own  calling  to  give  full 
consideration  to  aught  but  the  exigencies  of 
the  day,  that,  independently  of  them,  there 
may  be  latent  forces  eventually  capable  of 
over-ruling  them  in  unforeseen  ways,  for  good 
or  evil. 

The  principle  on  which  the  Government  of 
China  regulates  its  national  affairs,  internal  and 
external,  is,  as  has  been  hinted,  that  of  mas- 
terly inactivity.  Chinese  statesmen  and  place- 
hunters  do  not  find  congenial  occupation  in 
remodelling  the  constitution,  as  is  the  case  in 
some  other  countries,  but  rather  acquiesce  in  the 
distempers  of  the  body  politic  like  an  easy-going 
man  who  never  seeks  the  aid  of  a  physician. 
Everything  is  left  to  nature,  and  when  matters 
go  wrong  they  are  usually  allowed  to  right 
themselves  as  best  they  may.  Hence  the 
Chinese  —  for  people  and  Government  are  the 
same  —  are  seen  to  suffer  abuses  of  every  kind 
to  consume  their  substance  with  the  same  fatal- 
istic apathy  with  which  they  meet  natural 
calamities.     They  recoil  from  political  experi- 


State  Problems-  7 

mentation,  and  oppose  to  all  innovations  an 
immense  silent  resistance,  especially  in  cases 
where  they  cannot  form  a  distinct  concep- 
tion of  the  real  scope  or  tendency  of  the 
change. 


8  China  and  Christianity* 

II. 

FOREIGN    RELATIONS. 

It  is  the  same  patient  imperturbable  spirit 
which  directs  the  foreign  policy  of  China.  She 
makes  no  plunges,  but  advances,  when  forced, 
by  tentative  and  reluctant  steps,  with  the  skid 
on  every  wheel.  Her  constitution,  the  out- 
come of  the  empiricism  of  many  ages,  and  her 
natural  temperament,  of  which  it  is  the  em- 
bodied expression,  combine  in  a  harmony  of 
slow  movements,  and  excessive  deliberation. 
So  consistently,  indeed,  does  this  characteristic 
dominate  governmental  action  that  the  dilatory 
precautions  which  are  taken  to  meet  impending 
changes  not  only  fail  to  overtake  the  object, 
but  through  their  untimeliness,  actually  create 
new  and  gratuitous  dangers. 

It  is  only  on  some  such  theory  as  this  that 
the  confused  and  irritating  position  of  her 
foreign  relations  seems  explicable.  The  West- 
ern nations  did  not  give  China  the  time  neces- 


Foreign  Relations*  9 

sary  for  her  to  think,  but  rushed  her  into 
action  for  which  she  was  unprepared,  which 
she  did  not  understand,  and  for  which  she  has 
to  suffer  whatever  may  be  the  consequences  of 
the  blind  bargain  she  was  compelled  to  make. 
Had  the  Government  of  China  been  fully 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  Western 
nations  it  would  perhaps  have  run  all  risks  to 
exclude  them  from  the  territory,  absolutely  and 
forever.  Not  even  the  modicum  of  a  strangled 
commerce  such  as  that  carried  on  at  Macao  and 
Canton,  nor  the  Russian  prisoners  entertained, 
with  their  priests  and  teachers,  for  200  years  in 
Peking,  nor  the  coquetting  with  the  Catholic 
missionaries  during  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth, and  even  the  later  centuries,  would 
have  been  permitted.  Only  by  complete  seclu- 
sion could  China  hope  to  remain  what  she  had 
been,  or  even  to  secure  her  stability  as  a  united 
and  homogeneous  nation.  But  having  small 
conception  of  either  the  power  or  the  spirit  of 
the  Christian  nations,  and  like  statesmen  all 
over  the  world,  dealing  from  hand  to  mouth 
with  the  circumstances  of  the  day,  the  rulers 
of  China  admitted  the  foreigner  in  the  North 


lo  China  and  Christianity^ 

and    the  South,   in  his  threefold   character  — 
political,  commercial,  and  religious. 

There  are  intuitions  which  precede  knowl- 
edge ;  and  as  the  instincts  of  certain  animals 
enable  them,  even  without  experience,  to  rec- 
ognize the  hereditary  enemies  of  their  race,  so 
the  advent  of  foreigners  seems  to  have  inspired 
the  Chinese  with  a  certain  indefinable  fear, 
begotten  perhaps  of  their  traditional  experience 
in  dealing  with  their  territorial  neighbours. 
But  the  strangers  were  so  insignificant  and  so 
deferential  that  curiosity  overcame  caution,  and 
transitory  obscured  permanent  interests,  and  so 
it  came  about  that  instead  of  shutting  them 
out  of  the  country  the  Emperors  were  content 
to  place  the  foreigners  under  close  surveillance. 
The  fate  of  their  empire  was  probably  in  a 
certain  sense  as  much  sealed  by  those  innocent 
admissions  as  was  that  of  the  Ottoman  empire 
in  Europe  by  the  first  capture  of  AzofF  by  the 
Czar  of  Muscovy  in  1696,  though  in  both 
cases  the  process  of  disintegration  may  be  indefi- 
nitely protracted.  Only  a  small  leak  through 
the  reservoir,  it  is  true,  but  a  fissure  ever  widen- 
ing, and  with  the  pressure  of  incumbent  water 


Foreign  Relations*  n 

ever  increasing,  certain  to  end  in  bringing  down 
the  whole  flood  on  the  valley  below,  either  in 
the  form  of  devastating  torrents  or  in  safe  and 
beneficent  streams,  as  fate  and  the  nature  of 
the  preparations  for  its  reception  may  deter- 
mine. The  regulation  of  the  inflow  has  hitherto 
proved  too  much  for  the  Chinese.  Perceiving 
the  potency  of  the  new  force,  they  dreamed  of 
schemes  of  expulsion  so  ill  conceived  that  each 
step  taken  to  repress  the  foreign  invasion  in- 
variably resulted  in  opening  new  avenues  for 
its  advance,  every  concession  made  to  the 
foreigner  serving  but  to  stimulate  his  appetite 
for  more. 

The  actual  situation  resulting  from  this  des- 
ultory contest  is  naturally  regarded  with  differ- 
ent eyes  by  the  various  parties  concerned. 
There  are  doubtless  foreigners  who  would 
anticipate  even  the  break-up  of  the  empire 
with  the  kind  of  weird  glee  with  which  wanton 
boys  hail  conflagrations,  and  some  who,  while 
they  would  sincerely  deplore  such  a  catas- 
trophe, would  still  think  even  that  price  not 
too  dear  to  pay  for  the  progress  and  enlighten- 
ment of  the  people  who  would  survive  the  dis- 


12  China  and  Christianity. 

solution  of  the  empire,  and  who  represent  the 
ultimate  interests  to  be  served.  Among  the 
Chinese  themselves,  too,  diversities  of  senti- 
ment on  the  subject  of  imperial  unity  and  per- 
manence may  easily  be  credited.  But  the 
government,  the  governing  classes,  both  pres- 
ent and  future,  have  the  one  burden  laid  upon 
them,  by  the  meanest  as  well  as  by  the  noblest 
considerations  that  can  rule  the  actions  of  men, 
of  preserving  the  empire,  the  dynasty,  and  the 
existing  polity  intact  as  they  have  received 
them ;  and  should  that  come  to  be  visibly 
hopeless,  then  at  least  to  make  as  long  a  fight 
in  their  defence  as  possible.  Among  patriotic 
statesmen  animated  by  this  common  aim,  there 
will  of  course  still  be  divisions  according  to 
mental  calibre  and  natural  temperament,  quite 
sufficient,  under  given  conditions,  to  dislocate 
the  machinery  of  government  and  reduce  it  to 
impotency.  Some  would  resist  not  invasion 
merely,  but  all  innovation,  as  such,  and  would 
defend  the  old  regime  in  all  its  parts  with  their 
last  breath ;  while  others  would  encourage  even 
sweeping  reforms  in  order  thereby  to  gain 
strength  to  resist  effectually  what  may  be  found 


Foreign  Relations*  13 

resistible.  By  a  miracle  of  regeneration,  of 
which,  however,  not  the  faintest  symptom  is  yet 
apparent,  the  threatening  danger  might  be 
averted,  and  a  true  reforming  party  in  the 
country  might  thus  render  to  the  State  the 
most  essential  service. 

But  whatever  differences  may  divide  them  as 
to  their  methods,  all  parties  probably  unite  in 
the  aim  of  conserving  the  State  from  every 
change  imposed  on  it  from  without,  whether 
by  the  direct  force  of  arms  or  by  the  spread  of 
the  subtler  though  not  less  potent  social  forces. 
It  is  incumbent,  therefore,  on  those  who  are 
responsible  for  the  peace  and  honour  of  the 
Chinese  empire,  before  all  things  to  acquaint 
themselves  accurately  with  the  nature  of  the 
complex  foreign  forces  which  are  pressing  on 
it  from  every  side. 


14  China  and  Christianity^ 


III. 

FOREIGN    RELIGION. 

Of  all  the  elements  of  which  the  invading 
force  is  made  up  none  is  more  formidable  than 
the  religious  element,  from  which  the  ultimate 
danger  to  the  political  fabric  is  the  most  likely  to 
arise.  Already  the  religion  of  the  foreigners 
has  shown  itself  fearlessly  aggressive,  and  it 
possesses  faculties  of  expansion  and  intensity 
which,  if  allowed  free  play,  may  in  no  long 
time  cause  the  religious  to  tower  over  all  the 
other  foreign  interests  in  the  demands  which  it 
will  make  on  Chinese  hospitality.  The  rela- 
tions of  the  government  to  the  foreign  re- 
ligion, or  religions,  are  so  far  simplified  that 
there  can  henceforth  be  no  question  of  exclud- 
ing them,  as  they  are  already  established  in 
fact,  and  protected  in  law,  by  treaty.  What  re- 
mains for  the  Chinese  government  to  consider 
is  how  to  deal  with  these  religions  so  as  to  get 
out  of  them  the  greatest  amount  of  good,  and 


Foreign  Religion.  15 

to  minimize  the  evils  incidental  to  their  propa- 
gation. For  which  purpose  as  careful  a  study- 
as  the  circumstances  permit  should  be  made  of 
the  religious  system  which  is  forcing  itself  with- 
out ceremony  wherever  it  can  find  an  opening 
throughout  the  empire. 

The  international  credentials  of  Christianity, 
as  registered  in  the  various  treaties  of  1858  on 
which  toleration  was  stipulated  for  its  teachers 
and  followers,  are  simple  in  the  extreme:  it  in- 
culcated virtue  and  taught  men  to  do  as  they 
would  be  done  by.  But  the  Chinese  had  their 
own  experience  of  the  inadequacy  of  this  de- 
scription, which,  moreover,  would  be  rejected 
as  insufficient  by  most  Christians ;  and  it  is 
perhaps  to  be  regretted  that  the  foreign  nego- 
tiators, who  were  solely  responsible  for  the 
phraseology,  should  have  condescended  to 
apologetic  expressions,  since  the  treaties  were 
made  in  their  hour  of  victory.  The  partiality 
of  the  description  was  not  calculated  to  remove 
prejudice  from  the  Chinese  mind  as  to  the 
merits  of  the  religion,  a  prejudice  which  would 
naturally  operate  with  renewed  force  as  soon  as 
the  grip  of  the  soldier  was  relaxed.     Perhaps, 


1 6  China  and  Christianity. 

however,  this  is  of  little  importance  now  that 
the  statesmen  of  China  are  called  upon  to  form 
their  opinion  of  the  Christian  religion  from 
fresh  data,  and  to  judge  therefrom  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  protection  to  which  it  may  be  en- 
titled. On  one  side  the  representatives  of 
Christianity  challenge  examination  of  what  they 
promulgate,  and  on  the  other  the  exigencies  of 
the  State  demand  that  the  challenge  be  taken 
up  by  the  public  men  of  China ;  and  they  will 
evade  it  at  their  own  peril  and  that  of  the 
common  weal. 

But  what  must  be  the  embarrassment  of  a 
Chinese  statesman  who  approaches  this  inquiry 
in  a  serious  spirit?  If  he  asks  —  what  and 
where  is  Christianity  ?  the  first  answer  will  be 
a  babel  of  conflicting,  nay,  mutually  destructive 
claims  from  a  hundred  different  quarters,  each 
claimant  calling  aloud,  Lo,  it  is  here  !  Close 
attention  to  their  utterances  would  show  him 
that  a  doctor  of  Christianity  can  hardly  deliver 
himself  of  an  exegesis,  however  chiselled  and 
chastened,  but  some  other  teacher  of  equal 
eminence  will  promptly  assail  it.  It  might 
perhaps  occur  to   a  laborious-minded    heathen 


Foreign  Religion*  17 

to  try  to  discover  Christianity  by  the  exhaus- 
tive process  of  placing  the  contradictions  of  its 
rival  exponents  ^  over  against  each  other,  and 
by  cancelling  out  all  the  propositions  which 
were  at  variance,  attain  at  last  to  the  unchal- 
lengeable quintessence.  But  the  residuum, 
though  in  reality  vital,  would,  to  the  apprehen- 
sion of  such  a  man,  be  so  intangible  as  to  sug- 
gest doubt  of  the  accuracy  of  the  analysis.  If, 
dazed  by  the  discords  of  its  miscellaneous 
professors,  he  should  think  of  harking  back  to 
the  fountain-head  with  the  view  of  seeking  to 
understand  Christianity  by  searching  the   rec- 


1    u 


How  much  harm  has  been  done  by  the  jealousy  and  en- 
mity between  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  in  the  time  of  the 
Reformation  in  Germany,  between  Episcopalians  and  Dissenters 
in  England,  and  in  our  mission  work  in  China  by  the  term-ques- 
tion controversy,  and  the  separation  caused  by  it.  Human  pas- 
sion and  sin,  sometimes  misnamed  '  conscience,'  lies  beneath  all 
these  eruptions  of  human  nature."  —  Dr.  Faber. 

"  Protestantism  is  not  only  a  veritable  Babel  but  a  horrible 
theory,  and  an  immoral  practice  which  blasphemes  God,  degrades 
man,  and  endangers  Society."  — Cardinal  Cuesta's  Cate- 
chism (1872),  cited  by  Prof.  Schaff. 

"  Dr.  Elder  Gumming  of  Glasgow  draws  attention  to  the 
great  evils  of  the  day,  and  especially  to  the  prevalent  indifference 
to  the  growth  of  the  Romish  Q\i-\ixz\ir  —  Messe7tger,  April, 
1892. 


1 8  China  and  Christianity* 

ords  of  its  origin,  still  it  is  doubtful  if  complete 
satisfaction  would  be  attained,  for  he  might 
easily  fail  to  discover  such  correspondence  be- 
tween the  teachings  of  its  Founder  and  the 
practices  of  its  modern  professors  as  would 
conclusively  establish  their  identity ;  and  he 
might  argue  therefrom  that  the  thing  which  is 
popularly  called  Christianity  is  something  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  was  revealed  by  Christ, 
or  his  immediate  successors. 

It  is  assumed  of  course  that  the  inquirer  is 
not  endowed  with  the  spiritual  perception 
which  would  enable  him  to  penetrate  the 
barriers  and  uncover  the  divine  spark  which 
the  grossest  forms  have  never  been  able  wholly 
to  extinguish,  though  they  have  wofully  ob- 
scured it.  Consequently  he  can  only  make  an 
objective  study  of  the  phenomena  and  their 
outward  effects  which  is,  indeed,  all  that  any 
public  man  in  any  country  is  called  on  to 
do.  For,  no  matter  what  his  private  beliefs 
or  sympathies  may  be,  they  must,  in  every 
loyal  statesman,  be  strictly  subordinated  to  the 
mundane  interests  of  the  State,  as  a  state.  To 
Caesar  the  things  that   are    Caesar's.     Were   a 


Foreign  Religion*  19 

responsible  Chinese  official  even  converted  to 
Christianity  he  would  be  bound  in  honour  and 
in  fidelity  to  his  trust  to  suppress  his  personal 
feelings  when  legislating  for,  or  administering 
the  laws  respecting  Christianity  ;  and  he  would 
damage  the  cause  of  his  creed  itself  were  he 
to  transgress  that  rule. 

So  far  as  we  have  followed  him,  therefore, 
negative  results  only  have  rewarded  the  search 
of  our  Chinese  inquirer.  There  still  remain, 
however,  two  wide  fields  of  research  open  to 
him.  One  is  the  external  history  of  the  growth 
of  Christianity ;  and  the  other  is  the  observa- 
tion of  modern  Christendom ;  both  of  which, 
through  the  spread  of  general  education,  are 
coming  within  the  scope  of  Chinese  scrutiny. 

Whoever  enters  on  such  an  inquiry  soon 
discovers  that  it  is  not  Christianity  that  he  has 
to  concern  himself  with,  but  Christians,  a  very 
different  matter ;  and  it  is  not  even  Christians, 
as  individual  men  or  citizens,  but  the  Church, 
in  its  innumerable  forms,  with  infinite  powers 
of  reproduction.     It  is  not  in  fact  a  religious 


20  China  and  Christianity* 

problem  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  that 
presses  on  China,  but  a  politico-eeclesiastical 
question ;  the  alleged  rights  of  societies  of 
men  who,  having  adopted  certain  religious 
tenets,  base  thereon  their  claim  to  special  civil 
privileges.  That  is  a  clear  deduction  alike 
from  historical  records  and  contemporary  ob- 
servation. 

It  is  not  uncommon,  and  it  is  moreover 
perfectly  fair,  for  Christian  propagandists  to 
claim  modern  Europe  as  voucher  for  the  mer- 
its of  their  religion ;  although  it  may  appear 
to  be  bringing  forward  the  strength  and  mag- 
nificence of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  to  attest 
the  power  of  the  kingdom  emphatically  de- 
clared to  be  "  not  of  this  world."  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  plea  better  calculated  to  confirm  the 
allegiance  of  adherents  than  to  carry  complete 
conviction  to  the  mind  of  an  unsympathetic 
spectator.  Our  imaginary  Chinese  inquirer, 
for  example,  might  ask,  as  others  have  done, 
whether  blue  eyes  and  red  hair  have  not  some- 
what to  do  with  the  progress  of  Europe ; 
whether  Christianity  be  not  in  its  full  develop- 


Foreign  Religion*  21 

ment  as  much  the  consequence  as  the  cause  of 
Western  civilization,  the  two  reacting  on  each 
other.  And  he  might  even  allege  drawbacks 
to  the  perfection  of  European  society,  as  cer- 
tain Chinese  in  fact  have  done,  not  without  a 
superficial  show  of  success.  The  elevation  of 
women,  to  select  the  commonest  item  in  the 
Hst  of  the  social  triumphs  of  Christianity, — 
■which,  however,  it  may  be  contended,  is  an 
achievement  not  wholly  Christian,  but  partly 
Teutonic  —  while  it  has  conferred  immeasur- 
able benefits  on  society,  has  not  been  obtained 
without  the  payment  of  a  price,  as  every  news- 
paper and  novel  of  the  day  testify. 

The  morahty  of  trade  suppHes  a  more  gener- 
ally intelligible  —  though  in  fact  a  quite  falla- 
cious—  test,  and  on  that  ground  we  have  it 
on  the  authority  of  the  manager  of  a  great 
Banking  Corporation  that  the  Chinese  stand 
well.  In  other  departments  of  life  they  fall 
decidedly  short  of  at  least  the  modern  standards 
of  Christendom,  as  for  instance  in  the  bar- 
barity of  their  practices  in  war,  and  in  judicial 
proceedings. 

The  radical  difference,  however,  between  the 


22  China  and  Christianity* 

Christian  and  non-Christian  people  of  zW 
world  shows  itself  rather  in  the  progressive 
vigour  of  the  one  as  contrasted  with  the  dull 
and  languorous  resignation  of  the  other  ;  and 
this  is  a  distinction  which  is  visible  at  first 
sight.  A  learned  Oriental,  not  Chinese  nor 
Christian,  once  remarked  to  the  writer  that  the 
immense  difference  between  Buddhism  and 
Christianity  might  be  seen  in  the  streets  of 
Peking  as  compared  with  those  of  Paris.  Nor 
is  it  on  the  mere  passive  virtues  that  any 
advocate  would  rest  the  superiority  of  the 
Christian  over  all  other  systems,  but  rather  on 
the  energy  of  its  positive  philanthropy  and 
the  principle  of  self-sacrifice  which  drives  the 
vast  benevolent  machinery  of  Christian  coun- 
tries, and  to  which  there  is  nothing  at  all  cor- 
responding in  the  non-Christian  world.  This 
could  hardly  escape  any  candid  observer  of 
facts.^ 

1  "  More  than  once  I  have  heard  a  patient  say,  '  There  is 
no  such  love  as  this  in  all  China.'  "  —  China  Med.  Journal. 

Organized  philanthropy  all  over  the  world  is,  for  the  most 
part,  directly  connected  with  active  Christianity;  and  in  all 
schemes  of  help  for  the  Chinese,  as  in  schools,  hospitals,  famine 
relief,  it  is  the  Christian  missionaries  who  prompt  the  movement 
and  who  alone  can  be  relied  upon  for  any  sustained  effort. 


Foreign  Religion^  23 

The  manifest  strength  of  the  Western  na- 
tions is,  however,  calculated  to  make  a  deeper 
impression  on  the  mind  of  an  average  Oriental 
than  their  moral  superiority.  And  China,  at 
its  wit^s  end  to  find  means  of  defending  itself, 
would  doubtless  accept  Christianity  with  eager- 
ness if  it  were  but  persuaded  that  strength  was 
a  transferable  commodity  which  would  be  im- 
ported with  the  religion.  But  to  import  that 
which  nourishes  strength  is  not  necessarily  to 
acquire  strength.  Much  depends  on  the  powers 
of  assimilation  which,  until  proved,  must  re- 
main uncertain,  and  can,  in  this  case,  only  be 
proved  by  experiments  which  bar  retreat.  It 
is  with  religion  as  with  material  civilization,  the 
form  without  the  spirit  would  be  a  dead  and 
useless  thing,  of  which  the  present  condition  of 
the  new  Chinese  navy  may  be  cited  as  a  case  in 
point. 

But  without  accepting  in  full  the  proposition 
sometimes  offered,  in  good  faith,  to  China  that 
she  would  become  strong  by  becoming  Chris- 
tian, Chinese  statesmen  will  nevertheless  do 
well  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  the  nations  of 
the  West  have  attained  to  their  present  emi- 


24  China  and  Christianity^ 

nence  in  arts  and  arms,  and  they  will  certainly 
derive  advantage  from  the  study  of  the  long 
and  sanguinary  struggles  by  which  the  various 
States  have  carved  their  way  through  barbarism 
like  African  explorers  cutting  tracks  through 
the  dark  forest  into  the  open  light. 


Exoteric  Christianity*  25 

IV. 

EXOTERIC    CHRISTIANITY. 

The  conditions  under  which  Christianity 
first  made  its  way  in  the  Western  world  natur- 
ally suggest  comparison  with  its  present  relations 
to  China.  The  analogy  between  the  old  em- 
pire of  Rome,  and  the  existing  Chinese  empire 
is,  indeed,  obvious,  but  the  circumstances  de- 
termining the  attitude  of  the  respective  States 
towards  the  Christian  system  are  so  discrepant 
that  unless  the  qualification  "  exceptions  ex- 
cepted "  be  kept  constantly  in  mind  misleading 
inferences  may  easily  be  drawn  from  it.  Rome 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Christianity  as  an  in- 
fant of  unsuspected  potentialities ;  China  en- 
counters a  full  grown  giant  with  a  long  dramatic 
history.  Such  a  contrast  puts  parallelism  out 
of  the  question  ;  while  that  decisive  new  factor, 
the  support  of  the  modern  propaganda  by  some 
half-dozen  of  the  greatest  military  powers,  al- 
most invalidates  comparison  between  the  con- 


i6  China  and  Christianity* 

dition  of  the  modern  Church  and  that  of  the 
friendless  followers  ofi  Him  whose  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world. 

The  most  definite  impression  which  the 
progress  of  Christianity  in  the  early  centuries 
of  its  growth  would  be  likely  to  make  on  a 
quite  disinterested  mind  would  probably  be 
that  of  the  radical  strength  of  a  movement 
which,  through  the  faith  and  fervour  of  its 
adherents,  had  proved  itself  irresistible ;  an 
impression  not  altogether  reassuring  as  to  the 
political  fate  of  nations  on  whom  such  a  heavy 
stone  might  fall.  The  Christians,  while  yet  a 
feeble  band,  would  be  seen  stretching  out  their 
hands  to  grasp  at  power,  and  by  sheer  force  of 
will  and  cohesion  actually  obtaining  it,  and 
gradually  gaining  control  of  the  affairs  of  the 
State.  The  Christian  subjects  of  the  empire 
of  the  world  would  be  observed  indifferent  to 
its  decline,  and  if  not  actively  accelerating,  at 
least  doing  little  to  arrest  its  fall,  and  even- 
tually entering  on  possession  of  the  escheated 
estate,  being  the  only  capable  men.  One  prac- 
tical deduction  which  a  Chinaman  might  draw 
from  these  events  would  be  that  the  old  bottles 


Exoteric  Christianity*  27 

were  hardly  good  enough  to  hold  such  strong 
wine ;  and  another,  that  if,  at  the  end  of  1 900 
years,  Christianity  can  boast  of  her  social  tri- 
umphs, they  have  been  gained  at  the  cost  of 
the  philosophies  and  civilization  which  previ- 
ously existed.-^  Reflections  of  this  kind  may 
well  suffice  to  put  the  statesmen  of  an  empire 
as  yet  unchristianized  on  their  guard  in  face  of 
so  great  a  force,  and  to  stir  them  to  deep  in- 
quiry into  its  nature,  aims,  and  methods.  They 
are  not,  however,  called  upon  to  weigh  the  re- 
mote results  of  Christianity  ;  for  the  immedi- 
ate present  and  the  near  future  more  than  tax 
the  statesman's  capacity  for  practical  excogita- 
tion ;  nor  has  he  any  mission  beyond  his  own 
State.  The  ultimate  good  of  the  human  race 
is  no  concern  of  his  ;  and  mankind  at  large  will 
do  better  without  his  gratuitous  solicitude. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  musings 
of  a  Chinese  Emperor  who  could  place  him- 
self in  imagination  in  the  shoes  of  one  of 
the  Caesars  of  the  first  or    second    centuries. 

^  "  The  most  serious  trouble  for  Japan  at  present  is  the  extinc- 
tion which  has  necessarily  befallen  her  old  code  of  morals  and 
ethics  in  the  presence  of  the  new  civilization." — Japan  Mail. 


28  China  and  Christianity, 

Could  they  have  foreseen  the  future  how  would 
they  have  demeaned  themselves  towards  the 
nascent  religion  ?  It  is  permissible  to  suppose 
that  if  the  Antonines  had  really  understood 
Christianity  they  must  have  yielded  personally 
to  its  claims,  and  yet,  had  its  future  course 
been  revealed  to  them,  they  must,  in  duty  to 
the  empire  as  an  emperor  would  regard  it, 
have  extinguished  it  as  a  society.  Could  a 
sincere  Christian  then  persecute  the  Christian 
Church  ?  It  would  be  a  paradox,  perhaps,  but 
scarcely  a  contradiction,  for  between  personal 
religion  and  the  pretensions  of  an  ambitious 
corporation  there  is  the  clearest  distinction. 
And  was  not  the  history  of  the  Church  for 
many  centuries  the  unfolding  of  continuous 
divergence  from  the  precepts  and  the  practices 
of  its  Founder,  who  nevertheless  in  some 
fashion  or  other  retained  and  retains  the  alle- 
giance of  all  sections  of  the  universal  Church  P 
Here  in  fact  is  the  difficult  question  :  how  the 
mixed  bodies  of  self-styled  Christians,  such  as 
we  see  them  in  the  world  to-day,  make  good 
their  title  to  the  name. 

Between   the  spirituality  of  the  religion  of 


Exoteric  Christianity.  29 

Christ,  its  elevating,  purifying,  and  vivifying 
power  over  individual  men  —  in  other  words, 
between  the  personal  piety  of  Christians — and 
the  assumptions  of  collective  Christianity,  there 
is  a  gulf  as  wide  as  the  world.  Whether  hap- 
pily or  unhappily,  the  two  have  been  so  joined 
together  that  no  man  can  now  sunder  them  ; 
and  they  must  in  practice  be  treated  as  one. 
It  is  with  Christians  as  with  political  and  other 
combinations  :  the  individual  character  of  the 
members  is  subdued  to  the  interests,  or  dog- 
mas, or  principles  of  the  whole  body.  Taken 
separately  they  may  be  modest,  truthful,  and 
charitable,  while  collectively  they  may  be  con- 
strained to  approve  actions  of  an  opposite  kind 
such  as  individually  they  would  condemn. 
Though,  therefore.  Christians,  like  other  men, 
invariably  —  and  quite  naturally  —  put  forward 
their  innocent  side  as  their  title  to  considera- 
tion, it  must  be  repeated  that  that  is  not  the 
only  side  which  rulers  of  States  have  to  take 
account  of.  Personal  piety,  charity,  and  self- 
sacrifice  are  in  truth  qualities  too  subtle  to  be 
weighed  in  the  coarse  scales  of  the  politician, 
who  can  only,  even  in  Christian  —  how  much 


30  China  and  Christianity. 

more  in  non-Christian  —  countries  deal  with 
the  external  manifestations  of  Christian  socie- 
ties as  they  collide  and  interact  with  the  other 
elements  of  the  body  politic.  It  is  with  them 
as  with  the  dual  character  of  the  private  citizen. 
The  law,  or  the  State,  deals  with  the  several 
members  of  society  not  according  to  their  in- 
nate worth  or  purity  of  motive,  but  strictly 
according  to  their  public  record ;  and  the  man 
of  exemplary  life,  the  pious  son,  devoted  hus- 
band, and  loving  father  who  levies  ship-money 
or  moves  his  neighbour's  landmark  is  not 
allowed  to  plead  in  defence  the  fine  qualities 
of  his  personal  morahty.  As  Christian  critics 
of  Mohammedanism  usually  brush  away  the 
rehgious  emotions  which  give  it  life,  so  must 
politicians,  as  such,  virtually  set  aside  the  ethe- 
real principle  which  animates  Christianity, 
more  especially  politicians  who  are  themselves 
heathen. 

The  attention  of  an  intelligent  Chinese  in- 
quirer would  naturally  be  drawn  to  the  different 
aspects  which  Christianity  has  assumed  in  the 
successive  stages  of  its  growth,  and  throughout 
the  wide  regions  where  it  has  taken  root ;  its 


Exoteric  Christianity*  31 

chronological  and  its  ethnical  developments. 
The  intangible  abstraction,  pure  Christianity, 
he  could  only  hope  to  deduce  from  many  and 
various  data^  as  the  ideal  focus  of  some  great 
ellipse  may  be  inferred  from  observations  at 
different  points  of  its  circumference.  Every- 
where he  would  see  the  characteristic  products 
of  the  human  nature  of  the  people  compounded 
with  the  forms  of  the  religion  which  they  have 
severally  adopted.  Of  extant  Christianity  the 
mere  geographical  distribution  will  perhaps 
suggest  as  much  as  is  necessary  respecting  the 
main  features  of  these  compounds,  without  elab- 
orate description.  Its  manifestations  in  North- 
ern and  Southern  Europe  and  America,  in 
Russia,  Switzerland,  and  Abyssinia  may  serve 
as  types  of  generic  varieties ;  while  that  colos- 
sal compendium,  the  Church  of  Rome,  contains 
within  itself  almost  every  colour  which  the 
many-coloured  mind  of  man  has  imparted  to 
his  religion. 

The  observer  of  this  vast  panorama  spread 
out  over  the  Western  world  is  naturally 
prompted  to  compare  these  diverse  forms,  and 
to  deduce,  if  it  be  possible,  from  the  visible 


32  China  and  Christianity^ 

results  the  causes  of  their  differentiation,  as 
well  as  the  secret  of  their  harmony,  so  far  as 
harmony  may  be  discoverable.  The  complex 
influence  of  climate,  soil,  and  worldly  circum- 
stances, modes  of  life,  of  race,  of  education,  of 
political  history,  of  communications,  of  epochs, 
of  the  personality  of  apostles,  of  authority,  of 
wars,  of  hardships,  of  luxury ;  in  a  word  of 
the  myriad  formative  agencies  which  combine 
to  build  up  the  character  of  humanity  —  might 
suggest  to  one  who  came  fresh  to  the  subject 
the  attempt  to  render  some  rational  account  of 
the  varied  development  of  popular  Christian- 
ity, and  to  unravel  the  double  mystery  of  its 
catholicity  and  its  narrowness.  For  him,  how- 
ever, who  is  only  in  quest  of  such  light  as  will 
guide  him  in  the  despatch  of  business  within 
his  own  province,  such  an  exhaustive  investi- 
gation, probably  impossible  even  for  a  Buckle, 
would  be  quite  out  of  place.  He  will  have  to 
content  himself  with  bold  and  rapid  generaliza- 
tions, fortunate  if  these  may  perchance  help 
him  to  forecast  in  some  vague  manner  the 
character  which  the  religion  of  Christ  might  be 
expected  to  assume,  when  transplanted  to  the 


Exoteric  Chris  tianity*  33 

soil  of  China.     For  that  is  the  real  point  on 
which  the  interest  of  the  inquest  converges. 

Inasmuch,  however,  as  contemporary  Chris- 
tian nations  are  so  far  removed  in  race,  tradi- 
tions, and  civilization  from  the  actual  con- 
dition of  the  Chinese  State,  the  comparative 
study  of  these  co-existing  societies  would  yield, 
at  the  best,  results  too  speculative  for  use,  and 
it  would  be  necessary,  at  the  very  least,  to  sup- 
plement it  by  a  chronological  review  of  the 
descent  of  modern  Christianity,  through  its 
many  channels,  from  its  origin.  And  this 
would  be  the  simpler  undertaking  of  the  two 
in  that  the  materials  of  such  a  review  have 
already  been  digested  by  historical  students 
who,  if  not  impartial,  are  at  least  sufficiently 
distant  from  the  events  they  describe  to  form 
a  judgment  clearer  than  it  is  possible  for  an 
ordinary  man  to  form  with  respect  to  the  tran- 
sactions of  his  own  time.  The  modern  world 
indeed,  whether  social,  political,  or  religious, 
would  be  as  unintelligible  without  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  successive  agitations  which  have 
produced  it  as  words  often  are  without  their 
etymology ;  and  on  the  other  hand  past  events 


34  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

would  be  very  imperfectly  understood  without 
the  retrospective  light  thrown  on  them  by  the 
consummations  to  which  they  have  in  their 
different  ways  led  up.  Every  stage  of  its  prog- 
ress will  reveal  something  of  the  true  nature 
of  Christianity,  fragmentary,  however,  like  the 
tesselae  of  a  mosaic  picture,  and  whosoever 
would  gain  an  approximately  just  idea  of  it 
must  take  it  in  perspective,  looking  at  the  be- 
ginning from  the  end,  and  at  the  end  from,  the 
beginning. 

From  the  time  when  the  movement  gathered 
its  new-born  forces  timidly  and  anxiously  in 
an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem  to  the  ubiquitous 
display,  courageous  and  confident,  of  our  own 
day,  the  drama  of  Christianity  has  never 
ceased  to  be  crowded  with  incidents  which 
stand  out  and  challenge  investigation.  Like  a 
stream  from  the  mountains  cutting  its  way  im- 
partially through  all  obstructions  the  new 
religion  burst  through  every  class  and  condi- 
tion of  men  :  the  remnants  of  the  philosophers 
of  Greece,  the  soldiers  and  poHticians  of  Rome, 
Arabs  on  one  side  and  Goths  on  the  other, 
the  commonest  and  rudest  barbarians  as  well  as 


Exoteric  Christianity*  35 

the  most  cultured  scholars,  reducing  them  all 
to  the  common  level  of  subjects  of  the  Church; 
and  all  the  chords  of  human  life  were  agitated 
to  the  uttermost. 

In  its  passage  through  so  many  strata  the 
stream  was  perhaps  enriched  rather  than  puri- 
fied, for  the  debris  of  the  different  paganisms 
which  it  undermined  was  borne  on  its  bosom 
and  distributed  over  the  new  continent  of  un- 
folding thought  like  the  glacial  boulders  which 
are  strewn  over  Europe,  far  from  the  rock 
bed  whence  they  were  detached.  And  even  as 
scientists  speculate  as  to  the  origin  of  the  one 
so  do  metaphysicians  find  their  ingenuity  some- 
times taxed  to  trace  the  genealogy  of  the 
other.  During  its  long  and  chequered  course, 
the  Church  has  shown  itself  in  depression 
and  in  triumph,  in  the  extremes  of  poverty 
and  of  wealth,  and  almost  in  the  extremes  of 
depravity  and  virtuous  exaltation,  and  it  has 
shown  how  the  principles  of  Christianity  re-act 
on  many  varieties  of  race  and  character  and 
many  phases  of  human  life.  The  history  of 
the  Church  is  thus  a  museum  of  vital  experi- 
ments worked  out  but  not  yet  fiilly  classified. 


2  6  China  and  Christianity* 

an  open  book  from  which  no  hungry  mind, 
whether  learned  or  unlearned,  need  turn  empty- 
away. 

The  question  then  is :  What  leading  im- 
pressions of  Christianity  would  a  moderately 
informed  Chinese  be  likely  to  derive  from  such 
a  hurried  survey  of  the  past  and  present  as  is 
above  suggested,  and  what  conception  might 
he  form  of  the  probable  social  results  of  its 
inoculation  into  the  actual  life  of  China  ?  No 
man  not  himself  in  contact  with  the  magnetic 
power  of  Christianity  can  hope  to  appreciate 
its  value  in  the  regeneration  of  individual 
character ;  and  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  repeat 
that  the  spiritual  or  essential  element  which 
has  kept  Christianity  from  breaking  up  is 
necessarily  left  out  of  account,  the  superficial 
or  political  aspect  of  it  being  alone  here  con- 
sidered. , 

With  these  importaht  eliminations,  then, 
the  salient  features  of  Christianity  most  likely 
to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  supposed  inquirer 
may  be  surmised  to  be  something  like  the 
following  : 

(i.)   He  would  be  impressed  with  the  vital- 


Exoteric  Christianity*  37 

ity  of  a  system  which  has  succumbed  neither 
to  external  opposition  nor  to  its  own  foUies 
and  crimes,  though  he  would  not  fail  at  the 
same  time  to  note  certain  significant  exceptions 
to  its  success  in  the  debased  Christianity  of 
Africa,  Arabia,  and  Syria,  which  disappeared 
before  the  sweep  of  the  more  vigorous  Islam. 
Indeed,  the  struggle  which  was  carried  on 
with  fluctuating  fortune  for  many  centuries 
between  the  low  types  of  Christianity  and  the 
virile  creed  and  government  of  Mohammed 
would  not  be  the  least  interesting  portion  of 
the  survey,  seeing  that,  as  has  happened  in 
India,  China  will  have  to  accommodate  both 
competitors. 

(2.)  The  next  characteristic  of  Christianity 
which  would  interest  the  inquirer  would  per- 
haps be  its  undeviating  progressiveness,  its  in- 
tolerance,^ its  love  of  power,^  and  its  tacit  or 
explicit  assumption  of  infallibility. 

1  A  diplomatic  Secretary  of  Pope  Pius  VII,  declared  that  it 
was  "  of  the  essence  of  the  Catholic  religion  to  be  intolerant." 

2  Not  an  ignoble  desire.  Ruskin  says  ^  propos  of  some 
reflections  of  Dean  Milman :  *'  You  may  observe,  as  an  almost 
unexceptional  character  in  the  '  sagacious  wisdom  '  of  the  Protes- 
tant clerical   mind,  that  it   instinctively  assumes   the   desire  of 


38  China  and  Christianity* 

In  the  infancy  of  the  movement,  when  the 
Christians  had  as  yet  scarce  ventured  to  show 
themselves  out  of  doors,  they  would  be  seen 
assuming  authority  over  their  neighbours. 
And  the  spirit  of  governing  so  runs  through 
the  veins  of  the  Christian  body,  even  to  the 
small  capillaries,  that  there  is  hardly  a  village 
in  Christendom  but  those  of  its  inhabitants  who 
appropriate  to  themselves  in  a  special  sense  the 
name  of  Christian  would  be  found  in  one  way 
or  another  trying  to  rule  their  neighbours. 
Strife  being  so  natural  to  man  it  would  be 
absurd  to  charge  Christianity  with  all  the  wars 
which  have  convulsed  Christendom.  It  is 
nevertheless  true  that  religion  imparts  an 
energy  to  quarrels,  whether  on  the  great  or 
the  small  stage,  such  as  commoner  motives 
fail  to  do;  and  also  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  great  wars  of  Christendom  have  been 
avowedly  religious  in  their  origin  and  aim. 
Nor  does  dismemberment  quench  the  spirit  of 

power  and  place  not  only  to  be  universal  in  Priesthood,  but  to 
be  always  purely  selfish  in  the  ground  of  it.  The  idea  that  power 
might  possibly  be  desired  for  the  sake  of  its  benevolent  use,  so 
far  as  I  remember,  does  not  once  occur  in  the  pages  of  any 
ecclesiastical  historian  of  recent  date." 


Exoteric  Christianity*  39 

the  Church,  for  like  the  annelids  which  propa- 
gate by  fission,  each  offshoot  reproduces  in- 
tegrally the  attributes  of  the  parent,  and  the 
least  of  them  is  ready  to  stand  up  before  the 
world  and  defend,  with  whatever  weapons  ^ 
happen  to  be  available,  its  claim  to  rule  by 
divine  right  over  its  neighbours.  Every  sect 
is  thus  in  its  nature  a  potential  persecutor,^ 
as  indeed  all  religions  are,  and  the  long 
struggles  for  "religious  liberty"  have  usually 
been  for  liberty  to  control  others,^  fortunately 
tempered  in  its  action  in  modern  days  by  the 
superior  efficiency  of  civil  government.  Per- 
haps after  all,  this  is  no  more  than  to  say  that 
the  Christian  sects  are  full  of  life. 

But  what  a  paradoxical  spirit  it  is  !  Diffi- 
dent in  matters  of  daily  experience ;  puzzled 

1  "  Flog^ng,  branding,  and  other  agreeable  forms  of  recrim- 
ination were  familiar  enough  as  from  Puritan  to  Quaker."  — 
Sattirday  Review.,  12th  March,  1892. 

2  "  Even  the  reformers  were  as  furious  against  contumacious 
errors  as  they  were  loud  in  asserting  the  liberty  of  conscience. 
.  .  .  The  Puritans  in  turn  became  persecutors  when  they  got 
the  upper  hand  (1645)." —  Justice  Duncan,  cited  by  Professor 

SCHAFF. 

3  "  The  cry  for  religious  equality  means  the  desire  for  irre- 
ligious persecution."  —  Ibid.,  i6th  January,  1892. 


40  China  and  Christianity* 

by  the  commonest  phenomena ;  unable  to 
foresee  the  issue  of  the  simplest  combination  ; 
failing  wherever  their  judgment  can  be  brought 
to  any  practical  test;  many  professors  of  Chris- 
tianity nevertheless,  in  matters  which  eye  hath 
not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  "most  ignorant  of 
what  they're  most  assured/'  assume  a  position 
of  certainty  so  absolute  as  to  warrant  them  in 
employing  all  the  forces  at  their  command  to 
compel  other  men  to  their  opinion.  And 
whenever  they  find  it  feasible  they  aspire  to 
attach  the  civil  government  itself  to  their  par- 
ticular service.  Governments  everywhere  have 
as  much  as  they  can  do  to  guard  their  ma- 
chinery from  being  used  by  the  sects  for  pur- 
poses of  coercion,  the  instinct  for  which  seems 
to  be  irrepressible.  Nor  indeed  could  it  be 
logically  otherwise  so  long  as  each  sect  believes 
from  its  heart  that  it  is  really  entrusted  with 
the  oracles  of  God. 

It  need  not  surprise  the  student  that  in  the 
origin  of  Christianity  no  countenance  was  given 
to  pretensions  to  domination,^  while  the  con- 

1  "  There  is  nothing  whatever  in  the  doings  and  teachings  of 
our  Lord  which  could  be  used  to  justify  reUgious  intolerance 
and  persecution."  —  Dr.  Faber. 


Exoteric  Christianity*  41 

trary  principle  was  laid   down  as  fundamental. 
For  no  system,  whether  of  religion  or  philos- 
ophy,   is   able  long    to    maintain    its    pristine 
purity.     All    known    religions    have    diverged 
widely  from  the  precepts  and  practices  of  their 
founders,  Islam  perhaps  the  least  of  all.     The 
collective  militant   temper,  however,  is,  fortu- 
nately, not  inconsistent  with  personal  kindli- 
ness, according  to   the  law  of  human   nature 
before  alluded  to  under  which  men  are  willing 
to   serve   their    corporations   by  means  which 
they  would  scruple  to  use  for  their  personal 
mterests.     Hence  the  frequent  observation  that 
certain  persons  are  "  better    than  their  creed." 
The  rule    applies    also,    conversely,    to    those 
whose   moral  standards  belong  to  an  inferior 
order,  who  seek  their  own  advantage  by  means 
which  they  would  not  resort  to  for  the   com- 
mon good. 

(3.)^  Growing  naturally  out  of  the  preceding 
conditions  is  the  compact  formation  of  "  the 
Church  *'  in  its  many  varieties,  whose  solidarity 
gives  energy,  and  which  is  the  immediate 
cause  of  religious  persecution,  whether  by 
Christians  or  of  Christians. 


42  China  and  Christianity* 

It  might  have  been  supposed  a  priori  that 
essential  Christianity,  the  devotion  of  individ- 
uals to  the  person  of  Christ  (to  take  a  short 
but  inadequate  definition),  needed  no  such 
formal  combination  of  men,  and  that  vital  re- 
ligion would  even  be  overlain  to  extinction  by 
the  pomp  and  circumstance,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  coarser  matters,  inseparable  from  large  or- 
ganizations. But  as  a  common  loyalty  to 
Christ  implies  the  brotherhood  of  man,  of 
which  the  various  Christian  societies  may  be 
taken  as  separate  nuclei,  destined  eventually 
to  coalesce,  the  principle  of  association  must  be 
recognized  as  fundamental  v/ith  them.  When 
the  followers  of  Christ  began  to  call  them- 
selves "  brethren  '*  the  Church  was  already 
formed  ;  and  there  it  stands  to-day,  the  grain 
of  seed  grown  into  a  wide-spreading  tree  with 
many  branches,  and  its  roots  struck  deep  into 
the  soil  of  humanity  ;  the  visible  embodiment 
of  Christianity. 

(4.)  A  necessary  development  of  the  cohe- 
sive quality  of  the  Church  was  its  self-govern- 
ing   tendency,     which    declared    itself  in    its 


Exoteric  Christianity*  43 

earliest  days  and  has  grown  with  the  growth  of 
Christianity. 

But  a  section  of  any  national  community 
separated  in  aims,  sympathy,  and  organization 
from  the  rest  must  be  a  source  of  jealousy 
even  to  strong  governments,  and  an  occasion 
of  alarm  to  weak  ones.  And  even  in  cases 
where  the  weakness  of  government  may  itself 
be  pleaded  in  justification  of  separate  auton- 
omies, which  claim  to  fulfil,  though  in  an 
irregular  manner,  the  functions  of  a  national 
government,  that  is  the  last  plea  likely  to  be 
admitted  by  incapable  rulers.  The  Roman 
Emperors  looked  askance  at  all  associations  not 
recognized  by  and  subordinate  to  the  public 
law,  and  the  Church  of  Rome,  though  itself 
the  sublimest  example  ever  known  of  an  im- 
perium  in  imperio^  has  never  even  to  the  pres- 
ent day  been  able  to  extend  its  toleration  to 
the  harmless  mysteries  of  the  Freemasons. 
The  Christian  Church,  indeed,  has  in  all  ages 
been  the  most  indigestible  morsel  in  the  form 
of  an  empire  within  the  empire  that  ever  ex- 
isted excepting  where,  as  in  Russia,  it  has  been 
incorporated  whole    into  the  scheme   of  State 


44  China  and  Christianity* 

government ;  for  to  its  vigour  and  self-asser- 
tion, and  its  claim  to  be  a  law  to  itself  it  added 
the  supernatural  sanction  of  hell-fire,  to  which 
all  who  opposed  were  unhesitatingly  consigned. 
In  the  ages  when  the  Christian  Church  was 
still  more  than  half  pagan  this  was  a  formidable 
weapon  to  wield  against  recalcitrant  sovereigns. 
The  secular  quarrel  between  the  religious 
and  the  civil  power  springs  eternal  out  of  the 
single  claim  of  ecclesiastics  to  obey  and  admin- 
ister a  higher  law  than  the  law  of  the  land,  a 
claim  by  no  means  restricted  to  popes  and 
bishops.  And  a  compact  body  governed  by 
such  a  theory  of  its  own  authority  must  be  a 
serious  element  in  any  political  State,  be  it 
Oriental  or  Occidental,  and  it  ought  to  be  no 
matter  for  wonder  that  an  Eastern  government 
should  treat  with  some  reserve  the  introduc- 
tion into  its  territory  of  any  organization  em- 
bodying such  principles. 

(5.)  Although    the    tenets^    of    Christianity 
do  not  fall  directly  within  the  scope    of  po- 

1  Some  of  the  Chinese  Emperors,  however,  notably  K'ang- 
Hsi  and  his  persecuting  son,  assumed  or  affected  a  great  interest 
in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 


Exoteric  Christianity.  45 

litical  consideration,  yet,  inasmuch  as  the 
species  of  moraHty  which  is  inculcated  among 
the  people  must  be  coloured  to  some  extent  by 
the  doctrines  which  they  are  taught,  and  as  the 
morality  of  a  nation  can  never  be  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  any  statesman,^  it  follows  that 
even  the  dogmas  of  the  Church  may  be  by  no 
means  devoid  of  interest  for  him.  To  China 
in  an  especial  sense  would  this  observation 
apply,  seeing  that  the  paternal  rule  of  the  em- 
perors includes  the  functions  of  Pontiff  and 
public  preceptor,  which  are  continued  down- 
wards through  every  grade  of  the  official  hier- 
archy. From  this  point  of  view  the  apology 
attached  to  the  toleration  clauses  in  China's 
foreign  treaties  cannot  be  said  to  be  irrevelant, 
however  inadequate  it  may  be. 

Now,  on  this  branch  of  the  inquiry,  the 
bearing  of  ecclesiastical  dogma,  the  drama  of 
Christianity  will  speak  to  the  student  in  tones 
varying  greatly  according  to  the  ear  with  which 
he  listens  to  them.  They  will  often  appear 
discordant,  and  not  seldom  contradictory.     In 

1  "The   state  can  never  be  indifferent  to  the  morals  of  the 
people."  —  Prof.  Schaff. 


46  China  and  Christianity* 

the  manifold  divisions  of  the  Christian  mass  he 
will  be  apt  to  be  bewildered  at  first,  but  cer- 
tain lines  of  cleavage  will  gradually  reveal 
themselves.  For  example,  he  will  find  the 
Church  in  successive  ages  unequally  divided 
between  the  ethical  principles  of  Faith  and 
Works,  or  personal  and  vicarious  merit.  On 
one  side,  creeds  and  ceremonial ;  on  the  other, 
virtue  and  charity  appear  in  the  ascendant ;  a 
moral  antithesis  sufficiently  pronounced.  At 
certain  epochs,  indeed,  he  may  find  official 
Christianity  practically  divorced  from  morals 
and  wedded  to  the  fiercer  passions.  Other 
planes  of  cleavage  would  bring  into  view  other 
great  opposed  principles  which  are  grounded 
in  human  nature  and  have  their  full  develop- 
ment in  the  Christian  Church.  The  Stoic 
ideal  of  duty,  without  compensation,  and  the 
Epicurean  ideal  of  pleasure,  be  it  present  or 
posthumous,  may  be  seen  dividing  between 
them,  though  unequally,  the  field  of  Christian 
ethics  much  as  they  did  that  of  the  pre-Chris- 
tian time  in  the  West,  and  do  now  that  of  the 
philosophic  schools  of  China.^    As  it  has  fallen 

1  "  The  Stoics  much  resemble  the  Conf ucianists  of  China,  and 
the    Epicureans    are   represented   philosophically   by    a   sect    of 


Exoteric  Christianity*  47 

to  the  lot  of  Christendom  to  ransack  the 
treasures  of  antiquity  and  to  bring  together 
from  every  region  of  the  earth  the  things 
most  worthy  to  be  preserved,  the  student 
will  be  able  to  recognize  in  its  manifesta- 
tions most  of  the  time-worn  psychological 
ingredients,  rearranged,  like  hewn  stones  from 
ancient  buildings  fitted  into  modern  edifices, 
but  with  a  distinction  between  the  old  and  the 
new  which  defies  analysis  ;  such  a  difference 
as  that  between  the  placid  and  reflective  Lake 
Leman  and  the  impetuous  Rhone,  both  formed 
of  the  same  waters.  If  Christianity  repro- 
duces the  old  philosophies  it  is  with  a  new 
inspiration,  for  Reason,  the  balancing  power, 
has  yielded  to  Faith,  the  impelling  power, — 
which  removes  mountains.  Nor  is  its  efficacy 
dependent  on  its  formulas,  since  diverse  forms 
are  seen  to  be  equal  in  energy.  It  is  a  power 
which  lives  through  errors.  It  is  not  right- 
eousness, though  to  the  faithful  it  be  counted 
for  righteousness.  Through  good  report  or 
bad,  therefore,  the  secret  of  the  world  that  now 

Taoists,  and  practically  by  the  large  majority  of  opulent  people 
in  China."  —  Dr.  Faber. 


48  China  and  Christianity* 

is,  and  probably  of  that  which  is  immediately 
to  follow,  rests  obviously  with  the  Christians, 
which  is  a  lesson  well  worth  pondering  by 
political  students  whether  in  the  East  or  the 
West. 

The  direction  of  men's  higher  aspirations  is 
indeed  no  trivial  matter ;  whether  the  goal  of 
life  be,  on  the  one  hand,  a  Heaven  which  the 
refined  depict  as  a  "beatific  vision,"  and  the 
unrefined  think  of  under  more  material  images, 
or  whether,  on  the  other,  it  be  duty  to  God 
and  man,  to  be  done  even  if  the  Heavens 
should  fall.^  Important  questions,  but  scarce 
expressible  in  terms  fit  to  serve  practically  for 
every  day  use,  and  at  any  rate  outside  the 
province  of  empirical  statesmanship. 

It  is  a  source  of  chronic  misunderstanding 
between  the  Church  and  the  World  that  Chris- 
tianity seems  at  no  period  to  have  appealed  to 
political  bodies  by  its  spiritual,  but  by  its  ma- 
terial, or  fighting  qualities.  Governments  and 
peoples,  as  such,  do  not  therefore  come  into 

1  "  To  be  urged  by  the  desire  of  heaven  to  the  performance  of 
virtue  cannot  bear  comparison  with  doing  good  for  its  own  sake." 
Confucian  polemic.  —  Dr.  Edkins. 


Exoteric  Christianity^  49 

direct  contact  with  those  representatives  of  the 
religion  who,  following  the  most  closely  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  great  Exemplar,  are  the  most 
gentle  and  patient,  but  with  the  trumpet 
blowers  of  the  force,  described  in  the  metaphor 
of  a  Chinese  Christian  as  the  coarse  rind  which 
hides  the  precious  fruit.  It  is  not  Edward  the 
Confessor,  but  Defenders  of  the  Faith  Hke 
Henry  VIII.  and  Philip;  not  Fenelon  or  Pas- 
cal, but  Richelieu  and  Mazarin ;  not  St. 
Francis,  but  Hildebrand  and  the  Medici ;  not 
Thomas  a  Kempis,  but  Thomas  a  Beckett;  not 
Augustine,  but  Athanasius ;  not  Melanchthon 
or  Erasmus,  but  Luther  and  Calvin;  not 
George  Wishart  or  George  Herbert,  but  Knox 
and  Laud ;  not  Pedro  de  la  Gasca  and  Las 
Casas,  but  Pizarro  and  Cortez ;  not  Evelyn, 
but  Cromwell ;  not  Newman  or  Manning,  but 
Walsh  and  Croke  ;  or,  to  come  nearer  to  our 
Eastern  home,  not  Sarthou,  but  Anzer;  not 
Crosset,  but  Griffith  John  that  stand  forth  to 
the  world  as  the  spokesmen  and  sponsors  for 
Christianity  ;  the  impersonation,  in  short,  of 
the  Church  militant ;  the  hard  buttresses  of 
Christianity,  perhaps  as  necessary  to  its  preser- 
vation as  the  rough  shell  is  to  the  mollusc. 


50  China  and  Christianity* 

(6.)  A  deduction  at  once  practical  and  ob- 
vious would  be  that  which  lies  on  the  surface 
of  every  newspaper,  that  Christianity  is  the 
ruling  factor  in  the  polity  of  the  Western  na- 
tions, and  exercises  a  controlling  influence  on 
all  governments.  A  religious  question  would 
be  seen  to  constitute  a  chronic  obstacle  to  the 
assimilation  of  British  rule  in  Ireland ;  the 
Church  would  be  seen  to  hold  the  balance  of 
power  in  Germany,  compelling  the  strongest 
parties  to  reckon  with  it ;  nor  in  France,  Italy, 
and  Spain  is  there  any  political  force  of  equal 
energy.  The  happy  circumstances  of  the 
United  States,  which  profit  by  the  long  experi- 
ence of  old  Europe  without  being  fettered  by 
its  traditions,  enable  that  government  to  main- 
tain perfect  equilibrium  among  all  divisions  of 
Christianity,  and  enable  the  Churches  to  elim- 
inate the  grosser  political  elements  from  their 
religious  life ;  while  among  no  people  is  the 
religious  principle  properly  so  called  more 
efficient  as  a  sociaP  force.  Were  it  ever  pos- 
sible for  one  nation  to  copy  another,  there  is 

1  "  Christianity  is  the  most  powerful  factor  in  our  society." — 
Prof.  S  CHAFF. 


Exoteric  Christianity^  51 

perhaps  no  model  which  China  would  be  s-afer 
in  following  than  the  United  States  in  her 
dealing  with  Christian  organization ;  but  the 
peculiar  difficulties  of  China,  which  are  non- 
existent in  the  Western  Republic,  render  the 
American  example  unavailing,  except  so  far  as 
it  may  furnish  the  idea  of  religious  toleration 
on  a  sympathetic  basis. 

(7.)  Perhaps  the  section  of  Christian  history 
which  would  come  home  most  directly  to  a 
Chinese  politician  —  as  it  has  in  fact  done  — 
would  be  the  evolution  of  the  protectorate  of 
the  Christian  inhabitants  of  non-Christian  coun- 
tries, against  the  civil  government,  by  the  forces 
of  Christian  states.  The  necessity  for  repell- 
ing Mohammedan  invasion  drove  Christianity 
into  forming  political  and  military  leagues  ;  and 
among  the  lasting  results  of  the  protracted 
struggle  for  life  between  the  two  religions,  the 
assumed  right  of  Christian  States  to  interpose 
between  the  Ottoman  Government  and  its 
Christian  subjects,  an  assumption  extended  in 
principle  to  all  non-Christian  countries,  is  one 
which  possesses  for  China  a  very  practical  sig- 
nificance. 


52  China  and  Christianity* 

A  Chinese  who  had  the  desire  to  follow  up 
the  study  of  the  natural  history  of  Christi- 
anity would  find  a  wealth  of  inviting  material 
all  round  him  in  the  libraries  of  the  West. 
But  he  might  thus  become  familiar  with  the 
great  landmarks  without  discovering  the  fruit- 
ful lands  which  lie  between  them  —  if  the 
metaphor  may  be  stretched  so  far  —  for  the 
striking  incidents  of  its  outward  career  bear 
much  the  same  relation  to  essential  Christianity 
as  the  wars  of  a  nation  do  to  the  common  life 
of  the  people.  And  as  the  secrets  of  nature 
elude  scientific  research,  so  will  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  Christianity  elude  the  scrutiny  of  any 
objective  critic.^     The  mere  political  observer, 

1  "  The  real  history  is  underneath  all  this.  The  wandering 
armies  are,  in  the  heart  of  them,  only  living  hail,  and  thunder, 
and  fire  along  the  ground.  But  the  Suffering  Life,  the  rooted 
heart  of  native  humanity,  growing  up  in  eternal  gentleness,  how- 
ever wasted,  forgotten,  or  spoiled,  itself  neither  wasting,  nor 
wandering,  nor  slaying,  but  unconquerable  by  grief  or  death 
became  the  seed  ground  of  all  love,  that  was  to  be  bom  in  due 
time;  giving,  then,  to  mortality,  what  hope,  joy,  or  genius  it 
could  receive ;  and  —  if  there  be  immortality  —  rendering  out  of 
the  grave  to  the  Church  her  fostering  Saints,  and  to  Heaven  her 
helpful  angels.  Of  this  low-nestling,  speechless,  harmless,  infi- 
nitely submissive,  infinitely  serviceable  order  of  being,  no  His- 
torian ever  takes  the  smallest  notice,  except  when  it  is  robbed, 
or  slain."  —  Ruskin. 


Exoteric  Christianity.  53 

however,  would  be  short-sighted  who  failed  to 
take  account  of  the  moral  achievements  of 
Christianity  in  disciplining  the  lower  and  culti- 
vating the  higher  tendencies  of  humanity,  for 
without  attempting  any  hypothetical  recon- 
struction of  the  world  as  it  might  have  been 
without  Christianity,  the  myriad  meliorating 
agencies  which  draw  their  life  blood  from  its 
exhaustless  stream  are  patent  to  common  view. 
The  alleviation  of  distress,  the  raising  of  the 
dejected,  the  purification  of  domestic  life,  the 
humanizing  of  man  and  the  ennobling  of 
woman  appeal  to  all  open  minds,  and  the 
chief  credit  of  these  things  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  deny  to  Christianity.  It  would  never- 
theless be  an  error,  as  before  said,  to  suppose 
that  a  non-Christian  Oriental  would  be  im- 
pressed by  them  in  the  same  way  as  a  Christian 
is,  for  wide  as  may  be  their  divergences  in 
practice  the  theories  of  morals  in  East  and 
West  are  not  so  disparate  but  that  such  ob- 
served virtues  of  the  West  as  approved  them- 
selves to  an  Oriental  he  would  be  inclined  to 
refer  to  the  teachings  of  his  own  sages. 


54  China  and  Christianity^ 


V. 


CHRISTIANITY    IN    CHINA. 

Our  supposititious  Inquirer  would  naturally 
be  prompted  as  he  went  along  to  apply  the 
results  of  his  observations  of  the  West  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  Christian  movement  in 
China.  Nor  could  any  exercise  be  more  prac- 
tical. For  China  is  by  no  means  inexperienced 
in  Western  religions,  and  is  not  altogether  de- 
pendent on  the  knowledge  of  them  derived 
from  abroad.  She  has  indeed  the  unique 
advantage  of  being  able  to  judge  them  by  the 
comparative  method,  for  besides  having  found 
accommodation  for  the  two  incongruous  for- 
eign systems.  Buddhism  and  Mohammedanism, 
she  is  still  struggling  with  the  recrudescence  of 
Christianity,  which  had  originally  gained  access 
to  the  empire  by  the  Western  frontiers  in  the 
seventh  century,  during  the  T'ang  dynasty. 
It  is  a  fact  which  should  interest  students  of 
comparative  religion,  as  well  as  propagandists. 


Christianity  in  China.  SS 

that  the  Nestorian  Christianity  introduced  at 
that  early  period  into  China,  and  received  with 
favour,  was,  according  to  the  Chinese  view,  grad- 
ually superseded  by  Mohammedanism,  even 
as  the  corrupt  Churches  in  the  West  had  been, 
but  apparently  without  violence,  Islam  holding 
its  ground  to  the  present  day.  The  Christian 
missions  in  Asia  would  be  an  attractive  study, 
were  it  only  for  the  heroism  with  which  their 
record  is  enriched.  Two  features  common  to 
all  these  efforts  —  whether  in  India,  Persia, 
Tibet,  among  the  Khanates  of  Central  Asia,  or 
in  China  —  seem  deserving  of  special  note. 
First,  that  the  Christian  missionaries  were 
nearly  always  welcomed  and  protected  by  the 
rulers  of  the  various  states,  by  those  even  who 
were  already  devoted  to  other  religions.  And 
secondly,  the  missions,  prosperous  at  the  outset, 
experienced  violent  reactions,  as  if  their  after- 
taste was  found  bitter.  It  would  be  easy  to 
give  local  and  partial  explanations  of  this  uni- 
versal experience ;  as  the  awakened  jealousy 
of  the  Lamas  in  Tibet,  the  reversal  of  the  con- 
ciliatory attitude  of  the  first  missionaries  to- 
wards    native     customs     and    philosophies    in 


S6  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

China,  dynastic  revolutions,  and  so  forth. 
But  such  particular  reasons  seem  scarcely  ade- 
quate to  explain  the  entire  disappearance  of 
mediaeval  Christianity  and  the  subsequent 
partition  of  Asia  between  Buddhism  and 
Mohammedanism.  In  China  the  Church 
fared  best,  for  there  the  Nestorians  were  still 
vigorous  enough,  after  six  centuries,  to  be  a 
thorn  in  the  side  of  the  Catholic  missionaries 
who  came  to,  and  were  well  received  at,  the 
Mongol  Court  in  the  reign  of  that  model  of 
religious  toleration,  Kublai,  who  honoured 
equally  the  four  prophets,  Jesus  Christ,  Mo- 
hammed, Moses,  and  Buddha.-^  From  the 
accession  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  however,  com- 
munication with  the  West  being  cut  off,  the 
traces  of  Christianity  were  so  completely  lost 
that  there  were  none  either  to  welcome  or 
oppose  the  apostles  who  250  years  later  made 
their  way  to  China  round  the  Cape  of  Storms, 
and  discovered  that  it  was  Cathay. 

1  "  In  this  empire  there  are  men  of  all  nations  under  the  sun 
and  monks  of  all  sects ;  and  as  every  one  is  permitted  to  live  in 
whatever  belief  he  pleases,  the  opinion  or  rather  the  error,  being 
upheld  that  each  one  may  effect  his  salvation  in  his  own  religion, 
we  are  enabled  to  preach  in  perfect  liberty  and  security." 
Letter  of  Andre  de  Per ouse  from  Kai  Tong,  IJ26.  —  Hue. 


Christianity  in  China*  57 

The  entrance  of  the  Itahan  missionaries  into 
the  empire  and  the  capital  towards  the  end  of 
the  1 6th  century  is  described  by  the  Chinese 
—  and  it  is  their  version  we  are  concerned 
with  —  as  crafty  and  insidious.  The  mission- 
aries, indeed,  gave  much  the  same  account  of 
themselves,  for  they,  by  the  most  admirable 
perseverance  under  almost  insuperable  difficul- 
ties, contrived  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Em- 
perors while  remaining  strictly  under  the  orders 
of  the  Propaganda.  They  were  from  the  first 
opposed  by  Censors  and  high  officers,  but  were 
supported  by  the  reigning  Emperor  of  the 
Ming  dynasty  (Wan  Li,  1573),  their  passport 
to  the  imperial  favour  being  their  astronomical 
science,  which  enabled  them  to  correct  the  cal- 
endar, a  task  on  which  Hindu  Buddhists  had 
been  similarly  employed  seven  centuries  before, 
and  which  seems  still  to  have  continued  to 
baffle  the  Astronomical  Board  of  Peking. 
Matteo  Ricci,  the  first  who  gained  entrance  to 
the  Capital,  had  already  been  some  years  in 
the  Southern  provinces,  and  there  were  already 
more  or  less  prosperous  missions  at  Nanking 
and    several    other    places,    described    by    the 


58  China  and  Christianity* 

missionaries  as  "  four  light-houses  "  diffusing 
the  truth  over  the  Chinese  empire.  Though 
constantly  denounced  by  Ministers  and  Cen- 
sors they  maintained  their  ground  in  the  prov- 
inces until  the  Emperor,  at  last  yielding  to 
the  official  pressure,  issued  an  order  for  them 
to  withdraw,  which  the  missionaries  were  very 
dilatory  in  obeying,  and  for  a  time  they  suffered 
grievously  in  the  provinces.  In  the  mean- 
while the  religion  had  been  spreading  rapidly 
throughout  the  empire,  and  counted  among 
its  adherents  men  of  rank  and  learning. 
Adam  Schaal,  who  had  succeeded  Matteo  Ricci 
in  Peking  as  mathematician  in  the  last  years 
of  the  Ming,  and  v/as  impressed  into  taking 
part  in  the  military  operations  which  ended  in 
its  overthrow,  was  prompt  to  pay  his  court  to 
the  Emperor  Shun-Chih,  the  first  of  the  Ta 
Ts'ing  dynasty,  and  he  and  his  comrade  Ver- 
biest  were  by  that  monarch  appointed  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-president  of  the  Astronomical 
Board. 

The  position  of  these  missionaries  and  their 
followers  was  incessantly  attacked  by  Chinese 
officials,  but  during  the  long  reign  of  K'ang 


Christianity  in  Qiina^  59 

Hsi  (1662-1723)  they  were  still  upheld  by  the 
Emperor,  who  highly  valued  their  scientific 
services.  But  the  opening  of  churches  in  the 
provinces  had  been  definitely  forbidden  about 
1670,  though  the  missionaries  in  the  imperial 
service  were  still  allowed  to  hold  religious 
worship  in  the  capital,  but  for  themselves  alone, 
the  propaganda  being  interdicted.  Both  re- 
strictions were,  however,  evaded,  the  imperial 
edicts  fell  into  desuetude,  and  the  propaganda 
continued  active  in  the  Southern  provinces. 
The  official  pressure  on  the  Emperor  was 
strenuously  renewed,  and  in  the  56th  year  of 
his  reign  (17 17)  he  was  at  last  prevailed  on  to 
revive  the  lapsed  edict  of  1670  and  decree 
the  expulsion  of  all  the  foreigners,  within  six 
months,  due  precautions  being  taken,  however, 
to  protect  them  on  their  long  journeys  from 
the  districts  in  which  they  had  settled  to  the 
port  of  embarkation.  Six  years  later  the  expul- 
sion had  still  not  been  effected,  and  the  Vice- 
roy of  Canton,  Kung,  then  memorialized  the 
successor  of  K'ang  Hsi  near  the  beginning  of 
1725  to  the  effect  that  the  numbers  of  the 
foreigners  were  too  great  to  be  disposed  of  in 


6o  China  and  Christianity^ 

such  a  summary  fashion,  for  the  wharf  at  Macao 
was  too  narrow  and  the  available  ships  too  few  ! 
He  therefore  petitioned  that  they  should  have 
leave  to  reside  in  Canton  in  their  own  estab- 
lishment, but  not  to  teach  their  doctrines ; 
and  that  the  Chinese  who  had  joined  that  sect 
should  be  made  to  abandon  it.  The  year  after, 
the  same  viceroy  memorialized  the  Throne  that 
foreigners  had  been  resident  in  Macao  for  200 
years,  that  their  numbers  had  increased  to 
over  3,000,  and  he  prayed  His  Majesty  Yung- 
cheng  to  issue  an  edict  limiting  the  numbers 
and  ordering  that  the  supernumeraries  should 
be  made  to  leave  the  country,  —  to  which  the 
Emperor  assented. 

Nevertheless,  during  the  reign  of  K'ien- 
Lung  (173 6-1 796)  the  missionaries  continued 
their  proselytizing  efforts  in  the  northern  and 
western  provinces,  though  from  the  central 
provinces  of  Hunan,  Hupei,  and  Kiangsi  they 
had  been  hunted  out  and  expelled.  The  Em- 
peror was  constrained  to  issue  a  forcible  edict 
ordering  the  searching  out  and  prohibiting  of 
the  sect,  but  always,  like  his  predecessors,  in- 
clined to  clemency,  K'ien  Lung  in  the  fiftieth 


Christianity  in  China^  6i 

year  of  his  age  (1785)  issued  another  edict 
formally  and  in  set  terms  confirming  the  pre- 
vious one,  which  had  again  been  secretly  vio- 
lated by  the  "  preaching  criminals,  whose  only 
purpose  was  to  propagate  their  doctrines,  and 
in  no  other  way  did  they  offend  against  the 
law."  Yet  as  they  were  ignorant  of  the  law 
of  the  empire  he  had  pity  on  their  sufferings 
in  prison,  and  would  set  them  at  liberty  and 
allow  them  to  live  in  their  own  estabhshment 
in  the  capital. 

Attempts  were  made  in  1794  by  Lord  Ma- 
cartney, who  was  well  received  by  K^en  Lung, 
and  again  in  1 8 1 6  by  Lord  Amherst,  who  was 
not  received  by  Kia  K^ing  because  he  refused 
the  k^ou-fou  which  he  pretended  was  due  to 
the  "Lord  of  Heaven  "  alone,  to  obtain  more 
favourable  consideration  for  foreigners.  "  From 
that  time,"  says  the  narrative  we  have  been 
following,  "  began  the  dissatisfaction." 

The  Christians  continued  to  violate  the  law, 
evangelists  went  out  secretly  into  every  prov- 
ince, and  evil  people  under  cover  of  their  name 
accomplished  their  evil  purposes.  The  risings 
during  the  Ming,  and  in  the  reigns  of  K'ien- 


6i  China  and  Christianity* 

Lung,  and  Kia-K4ng  of  the  present  dynasty- 
are  set  down  to  the  White  Lily  and  other  cor- 
rupt sects,  which  are  generally  associated  in 
the  public  mind  with  the  Christians. 

Then,  to  crown  all,  the  English  forced  them- 
selves into  China,  bringing  their  "Jesus  books," 
scattering  them  among  the  people,  who  have 
ever  since  been  carrying  on  their  wickedness 
under  this  cover.  The  English  treaty  of  Nan- 
king in  1842  was  followed  by  a  French  treaty 
in  1844,  which  conceded  protection  to  mis- 
sionaries and  other  foreigners  at  the  open  ports, 
but  did  not  annul  the  prohibition  against  for- 
eigners teaching  in  the  interior ;  and  when  the 
French  came  a  second  time  in  1846  to  Canton 
and  urged  the  removal  of  the  proscription,  the 
Emperor  Tao-Kwang  decreed  that  at  the  ports 
they  might  erect  Churches  and  the  natives 
might  there  receive  instruction,  "  but  they  were 
not  to  beguile  women  into  vile  practices  nor 
by  deceit  take  out  the  eyes  of  sick  persons." 

After  another  war  the  treaties  extorted  from 
China  in  1858-60  granted  a  more  general  pro- 
tection to  evangelists  and  their  converts  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  and   provided    more- 


Christianity  in  China^  6^ 

over  for  the  restitution  to  the  French  Minister 
of  all  the  buildings  and  lands,  the  property  of 
the  missions,  which  had  been  confiscated  dur- 
ing the  persecutions.  After  these  treaties,  the 
Chinese  followers  of  the  missionaries,  trusting 
in  the  foreigners  for  protection,  insulted  the 
soldiers  and  people,  and  disregarded  the  offi- 
cials, which  provoked  a  decree  from  the  Em- 
peror, in  which  he  says  :  "  It  appears  from  the 
statement  in  the  French  treaty  that  the  sect 
exhort  men  to  righteousness ;  this  has  already 
been  published  abroad.  Now,  recently  in  every 
province  the  followers  of  this  sect  and  their 
opponents  are  constantly  quarrelling  and  fight- 
ing. Hereafter  let  the  local  magistrates  in 
every  province  diligently  examine  into  the 
origin  of  these  troubles  and  use  authority  to 
preserve  the  peace.  If  the  Christians  can  quiet 
their  own,  let  them  as  a  body  be  fully  pro- 
tected. But  if  any,  relying  upon  his  sect,  does 
evil  and  violates  the  law,  then  the  magistrates 
shall  certainly,  according  to  law,  try  and  punish 
his  crime." 

This  cursory  view  of  the  advent  of  Christi- 
anity into  China  is  taken  from  a  recent  collec- 


64  China  and  Christianity* 

tion  of  carefully  edited  Chinese  State  papers 
called  King-sz-wen,  sometimes  known  as  the 
"  Blue  Books  ''  a  section  of  which,  translated 
by  Rev.  D.  L.  Anderson,  appears  in  the  Chi- 
nese Recorder y  1891.  It  presents  the  foreign 
religion  as  seen  with  Chinese  eyes,  and  consid- 
ering the  hostile  feeling  of  the  editor,  the  lan- 
guage of  this  historical  section  is  singularly 
moderate  in  tone,  though  other  parts  of  the 
compilation  contain  grossly  offensive  matter. 
As  a  narrative  of  the  progress  of  Christian 
missions  it  is  bald,  and  defective  even  in  histor- 
ical symmetry.  The  famous  quarrels  between 
the  different  orders  of  missionaries,  which  on 
their  own  showing  were  more  ruinous  to  their 
cause  than  the  hostility  of  the  Chinese,  their 
reference  of  their  disputes  on  abstruse  theologi- 
cal questions  to  the  Emperor,  and  their  ap- 
peals to  Rome  on  matters  concerning  Chinese 
customs  and  doctrines,  which  are  made  much 
of  by  foreign  critics,  are  passed  over  in  silence 
by  this  official  Chinese  editor,  although  they 
would  apparently  have  furnished  material  use- 
ful for  his  argument.  And  as  a  matter  of 
course  the  heroism  of  the  Chinese  as  well  as 


Christianity  in  China^  65 

foreign  martyrs  to  the  faith,  the  reports  of 
which  drew  from  Pius  VII.  the  exclamation: 
"It  is  like  a  passage  from  the  annals  of  the 
primitive  Church !  "  is  entirely  ignored  in 
these  publications.  Necessarily,  also,  the  hid- 
den source  of  the  Christians'  fortitude  and  the 
motive  energy  of  their  action  were  blank  mys- 
teries to  those  whose  sympathies  were  with  the 
persecutors,  and  not  with  their  victims.  Nei- 
ther have  the  devoted  and  disinterested  lives 
of  the  early  missionaries  such  as  Ricci  and 
Verbiest,  which  have  drawn  tributes  of  the 
warmest  admiration  from  candid  Protestant 
writers,  made  any  noticeable  impression  on  the 
Chinese  official  world.  That  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, however,  has  received  such  full  attention 
from  the  missionary  writers  themselves,  almost 
to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  Chinese  official 
and  popular  view  of  their  case,  that  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  reproduce  here  any  portions  of 
their  vivid  descriptions.  It  is  the  pure  Chi- 
nese view  of  the  mission  question,  with  all  its 
defects  and  partialities,  with  which  we  are  now 
particularly  concerned. 

The  opposition  to  the  entrance  of  Christian- 


66  China  and  Christianity^ 

ity  is,  by  the  above  narrative,  shown  to  have 
been  unwavering  on  the  part  of  responsible 
officials,  who  laboriously  reasoned  against  it  as 
they  also  have  never  ceased  to  do  against 
Buddhism,  on  general  as  well  as  on  doctrinal 
grounds.  To  such  attacks  the  missionaries 
laid  themselves  open,  more,  perhaps,  than  was 
absolutely  necessary,  for  as  if  the  Christian 
dogmas  proper  did  not  present  a  large  enough 
mark  for  assailants,  they  cumbered  their  ship,  as 
the  Buddhists  had  done  theirs,  with  a  deck- 
load  of  perishable  cosmogony,  from  which  the 
Church  has  never  been  able  quite  to  disentan- 
gle itself.  The  scholars  and  officials  dwelt 
forcibly  also  on  the  political  danger  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  a  succession  of  emperors  of  gen- 
tle disposition  who,  suspecting  no  evil,  treated 
them  in  a  hospitable  manner,  allowed  the  mis- 
sionaries to  gain  a  footing  in  the  Palace  under 
the  cover  of  teaching  science,  while  all  the 
time  "  these  foreigners  had  their  minds  fixed 
on  other  unlawful  things."  And  referring  to 
the  reparation  insisted  on  by  France  in  1858 
for  the  death  of  Father  Chapdelaine,  the  re- 
porter says :  "  From  that  time  the  disciples  of 


Christianity  in  China^  67 

the  missionaries,  though  Chinese,  have  be- 
come very  bold,  openly  relying  upon  the 
foreign  Consuls  to  protect  them,  at  the  same 
time  looking  with  contempt  upon  their  own 
officials."  ^  He  also  attributes  various  ris- 
ings in  the  country  in  former  times  to  the  in- 
fluence of  divers  sects,  and  says  :  "  All  these 
troubles  came  about  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  unemployed  evil  men  among  our 
people.  These  made  use  of  those  worship- 
ping assemblies  to  collect  money,  and  a 
crowd  having  gathered,  they  plotted  rebellion. 
...  So  from  the  days  of  Kai-K'ing  to  the 
present,  seditious  plottings  have  been  carried 
out  in  every  province.  .  .  .  Thus  in  all  the 
provinces  there  was  no  seditious  sect  that 
did  not  pretend  themselves  to  be  a  worship- 
ping body." 

These  prohibitions  of  the  teaching  of  Chris- 

1  "  The  native  priests  are  said  to  be  quite  overbearing  in 
claiming  access  to  the  mandarins.  Nor  has  this  been  entirely- 
confined  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  but  native  preachers  con- 
nected with  Protestant  Missions  are  also  charged  with  demand- 
ing admission  into  the  presence  of  the  local  officials  and 
presuming  on  their  connection  with  foreigners  to  claim  civil  privi- 
leges."—Rev,  R.  H.  Graves,  Recorder,  1884.  See  also  Rev, 
J.  Ross,  in  Recorder,  August,  1892. 


68  China  and  Christianity* 

tianity,  were  extorted  from  the  Emperors,  evi- 
dently against  their  better  feeling,  and,  if  one  or 
two  short  and  sharp  persecutions  prompted  by 
personal  pique  be  excepted,  required  nearly 
loo  years  to  get  promulgated  and  60  years 
more  to  be  put  in  full  force,  so  deliberate  are 
the  movements  of  the  Chinese  governing  ma- 
chine. They  were  partially  rescinded  by  the 
Treaties  of  1842-4,  and  finally  by  those  of 
1858,  both  of  which  were  imposed  on  China 
by  force  of  arms.  But  a  military  conqueror 
has  no  power  over  opinion,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  spirit  which  dictated  the  continuous 
remonstrances  of  the  high  officials  of  the  em- 
pire for  two  hundred  years  was  in  no  way 
changed  because  a  Minister,  trembling  for  his 
head,  signed  the  parchment  placed  before  him 
by  the  plenipotentiary  of  a  victorious  invader. 
Neither  was  the  feeling  against  Christianity 
likely  to  be  soothed  because  the  propaganda, 
against  which  they  had  waged  unceasing  war,  was 
forced  thus  suddenly  upon  the  Chinese.  These 
circumstances  render  it  dangerous  for  foreign 
powers  to  permit  the  slightest  relaxation  of 
treaty  observance  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese. 


Qiristianity  in  China^  69 

But  It  would  be  unwise  at  the  same  time  not 
to  take  account  of  the  actual  predicament  in 
which  their  treaty  obligations  have  placed  that 
people. 


70  China  and  Christianity^ 

VI. 

THE    SOURCES    OF    CHINESE    OPPOSITION. 

It  were  much  to  the  purpose  to  extract,  if 
possible,  from  the  record  of  the  various 
Chinese  persecutions  the  special  features  in 
Christianity  which  render  it  so  obnoxious  to 
the  Chinese,  but  such  an  inquiry  is  somewhat 
hindered  by  the  reticence  of  both  sides.  The 
missionaries*  reports  have  been  edited  as  yet 
only  in  fragments,  and  their  case  has  to  be 
largely  inferred  from  the  course  of  events. 
And  as  to  the  Chinese,  it  is  never  safe  to 
accept  too  literally  their  statements  because  of 
their  constitutional  habit  of  avoiding  on  all 
questions  a  direct  issue,  and  of  economizing 
truth  by  putting  forward  frivolous  and  irrele- 
vant arguments  rather  than  meet  a  case  squarely 
on  its  merits.  The  construction  of  the  Chinese 
mental  apparatus,  or  the  result  of  their  social 
education,  seems  to  bar  the  direct  ingress  and 
egress  of  thought,  which  consequently  has  to 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition.   71 

be  filtered  through  a  labyrinth  of  convolutions 
which  arrest  the  solid  particles  and  allow  only 
the  more  volatile  a  free  passage.  The  real 
conviction  of  a  Chinese  is  scarcely  to  be 
fathomed  by  his  own  brother,  from  whom 
something  is  always  held  back,  and  is  to  be 
ascertained  by  acts  and  inferences  rather  than 
by  direct  affirmation,  even  on  solemn  occasions. 
The  obiter  dicta  of  Chinese  statesmen  would, 
if  they  could  be  gathered  up  and  compared,  be 
a  safer  key  to  the  secrets  of  their  mind  than 
the  more  conscious  mintage  of  their  brain. 
Unless  this  canon  of  interpretation  be  applied 
to  Chinese  public  documents,  serious  errors 
will  be  unavoidable. 

From  the  favour  with  which,  notwithstand- 
ing fierce  academical  and  religious  opposition 
sustained  through  many  centuries.  Buddhism 
was  received  by  the  government,  the  hospital- 
ity accorded  to  the  Nestorians  and  other  West- 
ern sects,  and  the  tolerance  subsequently  ex- 
tended to  the  Mohammedans,  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  particular  species  of  antagon- 
ism which  has  been  evoked  by  modern  Chris- 
tianity   was    not    felt    towards    those    earlier 


72  China  and  Christianity. 

religious  importations.  Buddhism  no  doubt 
captivated  the  popular  mind  in  China  and 
Japan  by  supplying  the  great  void  left  by  the 
teachings  of  the  sages  — the  promise  of  a  future 
life,  and  a  scheme  of  retribution ;  paradise,  and 
remission  of  sins.  The  entrance  of  Moham- 
medanism may  have  been  made  easy  by  the 
purity  of  its  deism  and  simplicity  of  ritual 
offering  few  points  of  attack.  Nevertheless 
these  two  religions  were  not  less  subversive  of 
the  indigenous  theocracy  of  China  and  her 
traditional  superstitions  than  is  Christianity 
itself,  and  their  comparative  immunity  from 
persecution  therefore  goes  towards  establishing 
the  fact  that  neither  a  new  religion,  as  .such, 
nor  its  foreign  origin,  would  be  sufficient  of 
itself  to  arouse  the  antagonism  with  which,  in 
modern  times.  Christian  doctrine  has  been  met 
in  China.  The  question  is  thus  narrowed 
down  to  such  special  characteristics  or  external 
circumstances  as  may  differentiate  Christianity 
from  those  other  religious  systems,  and  perhaps 
modern  Christianity  from  its  older  forms. 

In  the  memorials  of  censors  and  statesmen 
in  the  reigns  of  K'ang-Hsi  and  of  Wan  Li  of 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition.   73 

the  Ming  dynasty,  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace 
the  natural  and  inevitable  jealousy  of  officials 
who  saw  strangers,  however  meritorious,  pro- 
moted over  their  heads  to  honourable  positions 
in  the  imperial  service.  The  case  was  not 
altogether  unlike  that  of  the  Hebrew  captives 
at  the  Babylonish  Court,  whose  elevation  by 
successive  Kings  excited  the  envy  of  "  the 
presidents  and  satraps,"  who,  diligently  seeking 
to  compass  the  fall  of  the  foreigners,  were 
driven  to  confess  :  "  We  shall  not  find  any 
occasion  against  this  Daniel  except  we  find  it 
against  him  concerning  the  law  of  his  God." 
And  it  is  worth  noting  here  that  one  of  the 
apologists  of  Buddhism  in  the  T'ang  dynasty, 
Liu  Tsing-yiian,  in  a  tract  translated  by  Mr. 
Giles,  lays  stress  on  this,  that  "  Buddhism 
admits  no  envious  rivalry  for  place  or  power." 
One  prominent  assailant  came  into  direct 
personal  conflict  with  the  foreign  missionaries, 
about  A.D.  l66^,  who  succeeded  in  supplant- 
ing Schaal  and  Verbiest  for  a  time  in  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Astronomical  Board,  and  was  in 
turn  dislodged  by  them,  disgraced  and  banished 
for  detected  errors  in  astronomical  calculations. 


74  Qiina  and  Christianity* 

From  such  a  man,  therefore,  in  the  bitterness 
of  his  defeat,  we  might  expect  to  hear  the 
worst  that  could  be  said  against  the  foreign  mis- 
sionaries, put  in  the  form  most  likely  to  impress 
the  Emperor  and  the  leaders  of  opinion.  Yang 
Kwang-sien  made  a  direct  attack  on  their  reli- 
gion. Not  in  the  capital  only,  but  "  through- 
out the  thirteen  provinces  ''  their  emissaries 
had  spread,  and  he  says :  "  What  is  it  they 
have  in  mind  to  accomplish  ?  "  In  the  books 
which  he  wrote  against  the  missionaries,  assail- 
ing with  admirable  energy  their  theological 
tenets,  and  pointing  out  the  social  disinte- 
gration which  the  system  would  work,  Yang 
uttered  warnings  of  the  sinister  designs  of  the 
propagators  of  these  corrupt  doctrines,  and 
appealed  to  posterity  to  attest  the  truth  of  his 
predictions.  He  called  loudly  for  the  expulsion 
of  the  foreigners  on  various  technical  grounds 
also  :  "  From  ancient  times  to  the  present,"  he 
says,  "  has  any  one  every  crossed  our  frontier 
who  has  not  been  sent  in  by  his  State  to  bring 
tribute  ?  Or  did  any  of  the  subject  States' 
Ambassadors  ever  come  with  tribute  who  not 
only  did  not  return  to  his  own  country  him- 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*    75 

self,  but  also  called  hither  fellows  of  his  own 
sort  to  assist  in  corrupting  our  people  ?  "  But 
his  chief  argument  was  based  on  the  disasters 
which  Christianity  was  sure  to  bring  upon  the 
State :  "  After  a  while,  when  trouble  comes, 
will  these  converts  contend  against  their  fathers 
and  brothers,  or  will  they  help  them  ?  .  .  . 
According  to  my  humble  judgment  it  is 
better  that  we  should  be  without  a  good 
calendar  than  that  we  should  have  foreign- 
ers among  us.  .  .  .  1  fear  that  if  we  have 
foreigners  among  us  they  will,  by  scatter- 
ing their  gold,  gather  up  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  our  empire  like  as  if  one  should  carry 
fire  into  a  pile  of  straw  fuel,  and  misfortune 
will  come  speedily."  In  a  word,  the  effect  of 
the  doctrine,  according  to  Yang,  was  to  sub- 
vert the  relation  of  father  and  son,  prince  and 
people,  or,  as  certain  earlier  conservatives  in 
another  part  of  the  world  expressed  it,  to  "  turn 
the  world  upside  down.*'  Conscious  that  his 
attacks  would  be  set  down  to  interested  motives, 
he  declared  he  would  gladly  be  misconstrued 
by  his  contemporaries  if  only  he  could  escape 
being  honoured  by  posterity  as  a  true  prophet 


76  China  and  Christianity. 

of  China's  distress.  From  the  prominence 
given  to  his  anti-Christian  writings  after  a  lapse 
of  200  years,  it  would  appear  that  posterity 
really  gives  Yang  the  credit  which  he  professed 
himself  so  anxious  to  avoid. 

The  course  of  the  anti-Christian  agitation  in 
China  has  been  a  consistent  and  unbroken  one, 
gathering  strength  as  the  religion,  or  its  pro- 
fessors, became  better  known,  and  reaching  its 
culmination  in  our  own  day  —  though  re- 
pressed in  overt  action  —  under  the  double 
stimulus  of  the  spread  of  the  sects,  and  of  the 
foreign  treaties  which  protect  them.  From  first 
to  last,  with  perhaps  one  exception,  the  Em- 
perors have  been  more  liberal  or  less  appre- 
hensive of  danger  than  their  Ministers,  and 
seemed  always  well  pleased  to  command  the 
skilled  service  of  the  missionaries  on  easy 
terms.  The  opposition,  although  fed  from 
divers  sources,  such  as  personal  jealousy,  phil- 
osophical antipathy  and  religious  sentiment, 
seems  to  have  centred  itself  on  two  principal 
points  :  the  dread  of  the  political  usurpation 
and  the  popular  aversion.  For  it  was  natural 
that  the  people  should  feel  at  least  a  prelim- 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*   77 

inary  repugnance  to  a  sect  which  contravened 
old  customs,  which  kept  aloof  from  local  cele- 
brations, which  held  quasi-secret  meetings,  and 
aroused  distrust  by  the  alleged  practice  of  arts 
incomprehensible  to  the  common  people,  and 
associated  with  witchcraft  even  by  the  educated 
classes. 

The  opposition  of  religionists  as  such,  e,g,, 
the  Buddhist  or  Taoist  sects,  seems  never  to 
have  been  very  formidable ;  and  the  implied 
subversion  of  the  root  religion  of  the  State  — 
the  worship  of  the  True  God  by  the  Emperor 
—  failed  even  to  arouse  the  anger  of  the  em- 
perors themselves,  the  parties  it  might  be  sup- 
posed most  directly  concerned  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  theocratic  status. 

Williams  quotes,  and  paraphrases,  the  prin- 
cipal causes  of  trouble  between  the  converts 
and  their  countrymen,  as  recorded  by  Mon- 
seigneur  Saint-Martin,  who  was  Vicar- Apostolic 
of  Sechuan  from  1772  to  1784:  — 

First.  Christians  are  frequently  confounded 
with  the  members  of  the  Triad  Society,  or  of 
the   White    Lily  sect,  both    by  their   enemies 


7  8  China  and  Christianity. 

and  by  persons  belonging  to  those  associa- 
tions. 

Second.  The  Christians  refuse  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  erection  or  repair  of  temples,  etc. 

Third.  Betrothals  are  almost  indissoluble 
in  China ;  and  whenever  the  Christians  refuse 
to  ratify  them  by  proceeding  to  a  marriage 
already  commenced,  they  are  regarded  as  law- 
breakers and  treated  as  such. 

Fourth.  All  communications  with  Euro- 
peans being  interdicted,  the  magistrates  seek 
diligently  for  every  evidence  of  their  existence 
in  the  country,  by  searching  for  the  objects 
used  in  worship,  as  crosses,  breviaries,  etc. 

Fifth.  The  little  respect  the  converts  have 
for  their  ancestors. 

Sixth.  The  Converts  are  obliged  to  take 
down  the  ancestral  tablets  in  order  to  put  up 
those  of  their  own  religion,  and  they  are  seldom 
forgiven  for  this. 

Seventh.  The  indiscreet  zeal  of  neophytes 
in  breaking  the  idols  or  insulting  the  objects 
of  public  worship,  is  one  of  the  commonest 
causes  of  persecution. 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*    79 

Eighth.  Disputes  between  the  missionaries 
themselves. 

It  is  possible  that  the  most  constant  source 
of  opposition  to  the  Christian  propaganda  is 
one  that  is  never  explicitly  referred  to  in  speech 
or  writing,  the  apprehension  of  loss  of  influ- 
ence by  the  whole  lettered  and  official  classes. 
In  the  patriarchal  and  theocratic  system  under 
which  the  empire  is  administered,  the  magis- 
trates of  all  ranks  in  their  official  capacity,  and 
the  scholars  as  amateurs,  not  only  rule  but 
aspire  to  regulate  the  people  in  their  various 
concerns,  and  as  they  must  know  by  instinct 
that  the  success  of  the  propaganda  would  in- 
volve the  solution  of  their  traditional  tenure 
of  influence,  their  implacable  hostility  to  Chris- 
tianity may  be  inferred  without  reference  to  its 
merits  as  a  religion.  And  when  to  this  provo- 
cation is  added  the  deposition  of  the  whole 
classical  lore  of  China  to  a  subordinate  place  — 
which  is  one  of  the  commonest  of  the  Chris- 
tian demands  —  the  exasperation  of  the  classes 
which  live  in  that  literature  needs  no  further 
explanation.     A  parallel  might  be  imagined  if 


8o  China  and  Christianity. 

a  foreign  propaganda  in  Great  Britain  were  to 
insist,  as  a  preliminary  step,  on  the  dethrone- 
ment of  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare  from  their 
supreme  position  as  English  classics.  It  is 
right  to  say,  however,  that  many,  perhaps  most, 
of  the  modern  missionaries  are  finding  an  hon- 
ourable place  in  their  school  curricula  for  the 
reading  of  Confucian  classics.^ 

Many  of  the  expressions  of  the  popular 
feeling  against  Christianity  in  China  resemble 
those  which  were  current  in  the  regions  where 
the  religion  first  spread.  The  affronts  offered 
to  the  national  gods,  abstention  from  public 
ceremonies,  the  scandals  of  promiscuous  meet- 
ings, the  resort  to  magical  arts,  the  scooping 
out  of  eyes,  and  other  abominations  read  like 
charges  copied  by  the  Chinese  from  the  West- 
ern  pagans,  their  similarity   going    some   way 

^  "The  fundamental  truth  of  Confucianism,  that  man  should 
strive  to  live  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  Heaven,  lies  at  the 
basis  of  all  true  religion."  —  Rev.  F.  L.  Hawks  Pott,  Chinese 
Recorder^  July»  1892. 

"  I  have  found  the  classics  of  incomparable  value,  both  in 
convicting  of  sin,  in  the  inculcation  of  duty,  in  upsetting  idolatry, 
and  in  establishing  our  Christian  ideas  regarding  the  omnipres- 
ence, the  almighty  power,  and  the  universal  care  of  the  one 
living  God."  —  Rev.  J.  Ross,  Chinese  Recorder,  August,  1892. 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition.  8i 

towards  corroborating  the  bona  fides  of  both. 
Behefs  and  sentiments,  however  irrational,  which 
thus  well  up  spontaneously  at  such  distant 
periods  of  time  and  among  peoples  so  unknown 
to  each  other,  are  evidently  too  firmly  planted 
in  human  nature  to  be  eradicated  either  by 
argument  or  rougher  measures.  To  the  pres- 
ent day  there  are  communities  in  Europe  who 
believe  in  abominations  being  practised  by 
Jews  on  Christian  children,  and  the  cruelties 
to  which  that  persecuted  race  have  been  sub- 
jected in  every  country  where  they  have  settled 
constitute  a  standing  proof  of  the  endurance  of 
racial  and  religious  prejudice.  Gradually,  under 
the  solvent  influences  of  time  and  enlighten- 
ment, such  notions  will  doubtless  die  the  slow 
death  of  superstitions,  but  the  strong  hand 
indiscreetly  applied  to  them  is  apt  to  harden 
prejudices  which  will  yield  only  to  invincible 
forbearance.^ 


^  Of  course  the  true  root  of  the  aversion  lies  deeper  than  all 
that.  Dr.  Faber  points  at  it  {Messenger,  July,  1892) :  "  The 
Chinese  have  learned  from  the  Roman  Catholics  and  from  their 
hundred  years  of  struggle  against  Christianity  to  fully  reaUze 
that  the  propagation  of  this  religion  concerns  nothing  short  of 
the  very  existence  of  the  Chinese  pecteliar  theory  of  life  in  its  en- 


82  China  and  Christianity* 

The  practical  statesman,  on  either  side,  will 
therefore  most  profitably  concentrate  his  atten- 
tion on  the  one  point  of  the  assumption  of 
political  power  —  whether  intended  or  not 
intended  —  by  the  teachers  and  converts  to 
Christianity,  which  is  the  most  obvious  source 
of  anxiety  to  the  Chinese  government.-^ 

There  is  not,  of  course,  an  individual  mis- 
sionary, nor  any  one  of  the  sects  into  which  the 
force  is  divided,  who  would  not  warmly  repu- 
diate any  design  of  interference  with  the  inter- 
nal administration,  and  in  most  cases  with  the 
purest  sincerity.  But  protestations  have,  un- 
fortunately, no  influence  whatever  on  the 
course  of  events,  for  it  is  not  by  the  malice 
prepense  of  individuals  that  dangers  to  the 
State  are  set  up,  but  by  the  natural  evolution  of 

tirety^  Perhaps  the  word  "  theory "  even  puts  too  formal  a 
limitation  on  the  Chinese  feeling,  for  something  more  vital  and 
more  diffusive  than  a  mere  "  theory  of  life  "  seems  required  to 
account  for  such  infinite  variety  and  intensity  of  expression,  and 
to  prompt  such  spontaneous  action,  where  the  propagation  of 
Christianity  is  concerned. 

1  "  As  far  as  religion  is  concerned  the  Chinese  are  not  only 
reasonable,  but  extremely  tolerant,  till  the  professed  religion  as- 
sume, or  is  believed  to  assume,  a  political  aspect."  —  Rev.  J. 
Ross,  Chinese  Recorder,  August,  1892. 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*   83 

their  principles.  Not  that  in  this  connection 
individuals  are  always  free  from  blame,  for 
many  could  be  named  who  really  have  arro- 
gated authority,  given  themselves  official  rank, 
or  who  have  at  least  exacted  the  deference  and 
assumed  the  state  belonging  to  such  rank,^ 
who  have  in  some  cases  even  levied  military 
forces,  —  to  be  used  in  aid  of  law  and  order, 
be  it  admitted,  —  and  some  who  have  dabbled 
in  palace  intrigues  of  a  worldly  character.  And 
although  hundreds  more  could  be  pointed  out 
who  bear  themselves  with  perfect  humility 
among  their  neighbours,  their  influence,  within 
the  purview  of  state  government,  is  almost  un- 
appreciable.      It    has     been    a    long    standing 

1  The  often  quoted  observation  of  Father  Ripa,  quoted  because 
of  its  obvious  candour,  is  to  the  following  effect : 

"  If  our  European  missionaries  in  China  would  conduct  them- 
selves with  less  ostentation  and  accommodate  their  manners  to 
persons  of  aU  ranks  and  conditions,  the  number  of  converts 
would  be  immensely  increased,  for  the  Chinese  possess  excellent 
natural  abilities,  and  are  both  prudent  and  docile.  But  they  have 
adopted  the  lofty  and  pompous  mannei  known  in  China  by  the 
appellation  of  '  Ti-mien.'  Their  garments  are  made  of  the 
richest  materials  ;  they  go  nowhere  on  foot,  but  always  in  sedans, 
on  horseback,  or  in  boats,  and  with  numerous  attendants  follow- 
ing them.  With  a  few  honourable  exceptions,  all  the  mission- 
aries live  in  this  manner." 


84  China  and  Christianity* 

grievance  of  the  government  that  the  foreign 
priest  trains  his  flock  to  look  to  him  for  protec- 
tion instead  of  to  the  constituted  authorities. 

The  simple  fact  of  any  considerable  number 
of  the  inhabitants  separating  themselves  from 
the  general  population  must  be  a  source  of  un- 
easiness to  rulers,  and  the  whole  stream  of  offi- 
cial records  proves  that  the  secret  sects  are  the 
chronic  bugbear  of  the  government  of  China. 
Christianity  is  not  only  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
sectSj  but  it  is  the  most  difficult  to  manage  be- 
cause the  autonomy  to  which  it  tacitly  aspires 
is  always,  in  these  days,  liable  to  be  backed  by 
foreign  force.  Hence  the  terror  with  which 
some,  and  the  aversion  with  which  others,  of 
the  local  officials  regard  communities  of  Chris- 
tians. 

In  Protestant  journals  the  question  is  some- 
times discussed  whether,  and  how  far,  it  is  judi- 
cious for  the  foreign  missionaries  to  plead  the 
cause  of  their  converts  before  local  magistrates 
in  cases  where  the  secular  interests  of  the 
Christians  are  involved  ;  and  it  is  assumed  that 
the  native  converts  sometimes  abuse  the  advan- 
tage they  derive  from  the  support  of  their  for- 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*   85 

eign  pastors  with  "  the  Consul  *'  behind  them, 
to  claim  privileges  which  on  their  merits  as 
mere  Chinese  they  •would  not  dare  to  do.-^ 
Whatever  conclusion  may  be  eventually  ar- 
rived at  in  these  literary  discussions,  the  fact  of 
the  subject  being  so  treated  at  all  goes  far  to 
justify  the  whole  contention  of  the  Govern- 
ment. In  many  parts  of  the  country  clan 
fights  are  provoked  by  the  Christians  presum- 
ing on  their  missionary  protection.  The  very 
latest  persecution,  that  in   Pakow,  in   Mongo- 


1  "  A  missionary  receives  a  report  from  one  of  his  Church 
members  that  his  heathen  neighbour  is  persecuting  him.  He  ap- 
plies to  the  mandarin,  who  refuses  to  see  him.  Then  he  goes  to 
his  Consul.  His  Consul  reluctantly  refers  it  to  the  higher  Chi- 
nese authorities.  They  send  down  a  win  shu  ordering  the  local 
mandarin  to  stop  persecution.  The  native  convert  has  never  ap- 
pealed on  his  own  account  to  the  mandarin.  On  examination  it 
may  or  may  not  turn  out  a  bogus  concern  altogether.  Ten  to 
one  it  is  an  insignificant  affair.  ,  .  .  But  the  remoter  con- 
sequences are  not  insignificant.  The  Christian  has  been  taught 
to  lean  upon  a  protection  he  is  not  entitled  to ;  the  heathen  feels 
that  he  is  being  tyrannised  over  by  the  hated  foreigner,  who,  ac- 
cording to  his  notions,  has  no  business  to  be  in  the  country.  The 
mandarin  has  been  snubbed  for  no  fault  of  his  own ;  the  higher 
officials  feel  that  in  admitting  the  missionary  they  pulled  down  a 
house  over  their  heads,  and  the  Consul  wishes  the  missionary 
and  his  peddling  concerns  far  enough."  —  Rev.  G.  T.  Candlin, 
in  Manchester  Guardian^  21st  December,  1891. 


86  China  and  Christianity* 

lia,  in  November  last,  was  but  the  eruption  of 
one  of  those  smouldering  feuds.  The  Chris- 
tians there  being  numerous' and  compact  had  in- 
curred the  enmity  of  their  heathen  neighbours, 
particularly  of  the  'Tsai-Ii,  or  Abstinence  Sect, 
to  whom,  it  is  said,  they  gave  much  provoca- 
tion. In  law  suits,  the  magistrate,  intimidated 
by  the  presence  of  the  foreign  priest,  and  ap- 
prehensive of  censure  from  Peking  if  he  should 
furnish  any  pretext  to  the  foreigner  to  appeal 
to  his  Minister,  favoured  the  Christian  liti- 
gants so  openly  as  to  excite  mutiny  in  the 
neighbourhood,  which  resulted  in  a  massacre 
of  the  Christians.  If  the  records  of  the  em- 
pire were  fully  searched,  such  cases,  though 
not  all  so  grave,  would  probably  be  found 
common  enough  to  account  for  a  general  re- 
sentment against  a  perennial  source  of  trouble 
and  personal  risk  to  the  officials  throughout 
the  country. 

Such  military  exploits  as  those  of  Mon- 
seigneur  Faure  in  Kueichow,  and  Monseigneur 
Delaplace  in  Chekiang,  although  serving  the 
cause  of  the  government  in  a  crisis  that  threat- 
ened danger  to  its  existence,  could  not  but  open 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition*  87 

the  eyes  of  Chinese  statesmen  to  possibil- 
ities of  a  different  kind.  These  two  prelates 
were  loyal  men,  of  whom  one  died  in  Kwei-fu 
in  1 871,  and  the  other  lived  to  enjoy  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Chinese  government  as  Vicar- 
Apostolic  in  Peking.  But  who  would  stand 
sponsor  for  their  successors,  who  in  some  simi- 
lar emergency  might  wield  similar  power,  but 
employ  it  to  a  different  end?  Indeed,  certain 
defiant  expressions  of  Monseigneur  Deflesche 
in  Sechuan,  during  the  troubles  there  about 
1870,  intimated  to  the  French  Government 
that  the  Church  in  that  province  had  confi- 
dence in  its  own  means  of  self-protection.  A 
nation  would  hardly  be  in  a  satisfactory  posi- 
tion which  was  liable  to  have  to  treat  with  an 
alien  in  its  midst  at  the  head  of  troops  of  his 
own  raising,  whether  in  the  capacity  —  so  easily 
interchangeable  —  of  ally  or  enemy.  Her  ex- 
perience of  her  Mohammedan  subjects  would 
alone  render  China  suspicious  and  irritable  in 
face  of  separate  communities  in  either  guise. 
For  though  in  that  religion  itself  there  is 
nothing  inimical  to  the  government  any  more 
than  there  is  in  Christianity,  yet  the  circum- 


88  China  and  Christianity^ 

stance  of  a  numerous  body  of  co-religionists 
thrown  together  by  their  alienation  from  the 
people  round  them  is  a  skeleton  always  in  the 
cupboard.  The  nucleated  body  must  ever  be 
harder  than  the  mass  in  which  it  is  imbedded, 
as  was  illustrated  with  costly  vividness  in  the 
two  great  Mohammedan  rebellions  in  Yiiman 
and  in  Kashgar,  which  arose  and  were  quelled 
within  the  present  generation,  after  sacrifices 
which  taxed  the  resources  of  the  empire  to  the 
uttermost. 

Her  standing  warfare  with  the  sects  and 
secret  societies,  therefore  ;  the  many  insurrec- 
tions these  have  raised  in  the  past ;  the  devas- 
tations of  Taipings,  Panthays,  and  Dunganis, 
and  the  waste  of  life  and  property  incidental  to 
their  overthrow ;  would  seem  to  justify  the 
fears  of  China  in  regard  to  the  advance  of  any 
foreign  religion ;  and  of  all  the  sects  and  soci- 
eties which  have  yet  appeared  Christianity  is 
certainly  not  the  one  that  has  in  general 
proved  to  be  the  most  docile.  If,  indeed,  the 
government  officials  were  willing,  or  were  in  a 
position,  to  observe  the  gentler  fruits  of  Chris- 
tian   teaching,    their    political    apprehensions 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition.    89 

might  be  somewhat  allayed;  for  they  would 
see  in  many  rural  villages  throughout  the 
country  the  leaven  of  the  new  faith  working  its 
way  in  the  silent  manner  in  which  the  eternal 
forces  always  do  work  ;  and  they  would  see,  if 
they  had  eyes  for  such  things,  evidences  of 
ameHoration  in  the  life  of  the  people,  cleanli- 
ness and  kindliness  spreading,  intelligence 
awakened,  the  desire  for  knowledge  implanted, 
reading  taking  the  place  of  gambling  in  the 
cottages,  and  the  conditions  of  existence  sweet- 
ened, brightened,  and  elevated  for  many  a 
poor  family.  Equally  in  Catholic  and  Protes- 
tant mission  stations  might  such  peaceful 
progress  be  witnessed,  not  as  the  result  of 
either  Catholic  or  Protestant  polemics,  or  of 
exciting  literature,  but  of  the  personal  magnet- 
ism of  men  and  women  whose  lives  reflect  the 
light  of  love.  Unfortunately,  however,  but 
inevitably,  the  features  of  Christianity  which 
challenge  the  attention  of  the  outer  world,  and 
especially  of  rulers,  do  not  belong  to  that  class, 
but  to  those  which  are  associated  with  aggres- 
siveness. It  is  for  such  phases  of  the  religion 
alone  that  state  regulations  are  required,  just 


90  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

as  the  ordinary  laws  of  a  country  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  ignoring  its  orderly  citizens  and  are 
ostensibly  concerned  only  with  the  minority 
who  violate  the  social  order. 

Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  the  Chinese 
government  to  be  more  Christian  than  the 
Christians  themselves ;  and  whatever  may  be 
the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  religion  as  expressed 
in  the  lives  of  saints  and  the  death  of  martyrs, 
the  most  eloquent  apology  could  not  speak  to 
a  heathen  government  in  such  cogent  language 
as  the  acts  of  the  representatives  of  Christian 
governments  with  whom  it  has  daily  inter- 
course. The  Chinese  may  be  lacking  in  spir- 
itual perception,  but  they  cannot  be  denied  the 
quality  of  common  shrewdness,  which  enables 
them  to  take  a  fairly  correct  gauge  of  the 
foreigners  of  all  classes  with  whom  they  come 
in  contact,  and  of  their  motives  of  action. 
What,  then,  are  they  to  think  of  the  sacred- 
ness  of  a  religion  of  which  they  see  foreign 
powers  competing  for  the  championship  merely 
in  order  that  they  may  make  political  capital 
out  of  it  to  vex  China  ;  or,  baser  still,  in  order 
that  they  may  make  common  merchandise  of 
the  Christian  Church  ? 


The  Sources  of  Chinese  Opposition.  91 

It  seems  superfluous  again  to  repeat,  that 
China  has  not  alone,  indeed  scarcely  at  all,  to 
weigh  the  inner  character  of  Christianity  ;  but 
to  contemplate  the  Church  in  alliance  with 
powerful  nations  who,  whether  treating  religious 
affairs  as  ancillary  to  their  own  ambitions,  or 
being  goaded  by  the  Church  to  action  against 
their  will,  in  either  case  make  her  cause  their 
own.  China  has  had  memorable  experience  of 
such,  to  her,  ill-omened  aUiances.  It  was  the 
death  of  a  Catholic  priest,  whose  residence  in 
the  interior  at  the  time  was  illegal,  that  fur- 
nished Napoleon  III.  the  pretext  for  invading 
China  and  sacking  the  Palace.  It  was  alleged 
persecutions  in  Cochin-China  that  furnished, 
at  the  same  convenient  juncture,  the  pretext  to 
France  to  take  possession  of  that  territory,  and 
was  the  not  very  remote  cause  of  the  Tong- 
king  war  which  lately  cost  China  60  million 
taels,  besides  the  loss  of  the  protectorate.  Thus 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  has  been  the  seed  of 
foreign  colonial  empire,  of  whose  aggrandize- 
ment China  has  had  to  pay  the  cost. 

The  experience  of  China,  so  far  as  it  has  yet 
gone,  therefore,  is  not  out  of  keeping  with  the 


92  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

record  of  Christianity  elsewhere.  And  traits 
now  exhibited  in  China,  which  are  found  to 
correspond  with  those  observed  in  remote 
times  and  places,  may  not  unfairly  be  taken 
as  practically  inseparable  from  the  only  forms 
of  Christianity  which  have  been  able  to  assert 
themselves  amid  the  strife  of  nations,  however 
much  these  characters  may  seem  at  variance 
with  the  principles  enunciated  by  its  Founder. 


The  Taiping  Rebellion*  93 


vir 


THE    TAIPING     REBELLION. 

Beyond  these  general  and  more  or  less  cal- 
culable risks  connected  with  Christianity,  China 
has  had  a  special  and  perhaps  unique  experi- 
ence of  an  incalculable  danger  of  the  most  seri- 
ous character,  which  calls  for  some  notice  here. 
The  Taiping  rebellion,  which  wasted  the  richest 
provinces  of  the  empire  during  a  space  of 
fifteen  years  (reducing  populous  cities  to  rub- 
bish heaps  and  fertile  lands  to  deserts),  and 
which  has  been  estimated  by  some  to  have  re- 
duced the  population  one  way  and  another  by 
50  million  souls,  or  according  to  Dr.  Wells 
Williams,  20  millions,  was  the  direct  outcome 
of  Christian  teaching.  Dr.  Edkins  calls  it 
"  the  Christian  insurrection."  Few  nations 
have  had  to  endure  the  like,  and  a  State  that 
has  recently  passed  through  such  a  life-and- 
death  struggle   may  be  pardoned  a  little  cool- 


94  China  and  Christianity. 

ness  towards  the  propagation  of  the  doctrines 
with  which  the  movement  was  associated. 

The  Protestant  missionaries  then  in  China 
were  elated  at  the  outburst  of  the  great  Rebel- 
Hon,  not  because  they  cherished  enmity  to  the 
government  which  apparently  was  about  to  be 
overthrown,  but  because  of  the  demonstrated 
success  of  their  teaching.  It  was  not  their 
fault  that  the  country  was  being  desolated ; 
that  was  one  of  the  incidents  of  warfare,  and 
the  imperialists  were  at  least  as  ruthless  as  the 
rebels  ;  but  certain  sacred  names  were  blazoned 
in  the  Rebel  proclamations,  and  in  their  books 
and  tracts.  Such  is  fanaticism.  Let  Heaven 
and  Earth  perish,^  so  that  our  scheme  of  ver- 
bal theology  may  triumph.  For  eight  years, 
and  perhaps  longer,  the  Protestant  missionaries 
continued  to  be  partisans  of  the  Rebels,^  and 
one  of  the  most  experienced  of  them,  at  the 


1  "Among  Christians  there  is,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  too  large  a 
party  that  would  rather  allow  heaven  and  earth  to  go  to  pieces 
than  confess  a  mistake  on  their  part." —  Dr.  Faber. 

2  They  had  also  the  contemporary  (1856)  sympathy  of  the 
too-soon  forgotten  Thomas  Taylor  Meadows,  whose  valuable 
work  on  China  stands  on  the  shelves  of  a  certain  circulating 
library  these  many  years,  uncut. 


The  Taiping  Rebellion*  9S 

head-quarters  of  the  chief,  was  enthusiastic 
over  the  orthodoxy  of  the  junior  leaders  whom 
he  personally  cross-examined  in  the  presence 
of,  among  others,  the  present  writer,  as  late  as 
1 86 1.  The  tide  eventually  turned,  and  in 
view  of  the  decidedly  polygamous  proclivities 
of  the  Wang  himself,  and  some  rather  serious 
aberrations  in  doctrine,  the  missions  ^  gradually 
withdrew  their  sympathy,  washed  their  hands 
of  the  new  Christians  —  Dr.  Williams  calls 
them  "these  misguided  men" — and  passed 
by  on  the  other  side. 

This  was  very  well  for  the  foreign  evangel- 
ists, but  what  of  the  Chinese  government  ?  It 
could  not  blow  hot  and  cold,  but  had  to  make 
up  its  mind  and  meet  the  calamity,  whether  in 
its  quasi-orthodox  character,  as  it  appeared 
when  viewed  from  a  distance,  or  in  its  more 
heretical  aspect  when  seen  at  closer  quarters. 
And  what  of  the  fifty,  twenty,  or  were  it  even 
but  ten,  millions  of  victims  ?  Their  ghosts  as- 
suredly would  be  little  solaced  by  the  news 
that  after  all  certain  flaws  had  been  found  in 

1  The  Catholic  missions  were  adverse  to  the  rebellion  con- 
sistently from  first  to  last. 


g6  China  and  Christianity* 

the  orthodoxy  of  the  Rebels.  It  was  obvi- 
ously the  same  thing  to  people  and  govern- 
ment whether  these  scourges  of  theirs  were 
sound  on  the  Fi/ioque,  or  not. 

In  his  work  on  "  Religion  in  China/'  third 
edition,  1884,  Dr.  Edkins  gives  an  interesting 
though  brief  account  of  the  genesis  of  the 
Taiping  rebellion,  which,  republished  thirty 
years  after  the  final  suppression  of  the  rising, 
may  be  taken  as  the  verdict  by  which  the 
Protestant  missionaries  are,  on  the  whole,  will- 
ing to  abide.  "  The  insurrection,"  he  says, 
"  began  in  strong  religious  impressions  de- 
rived  from    reading   the  Scriptures  and  tracts 

published   by  Protestant    Missionaries 

We  see  in  this  movement  the  effect  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  Bibles  and  Christian  tracts 

They  felt  the  power  of  Christian  truth  .  .  . 
but  they  were  without  guidance  in  com- 
prehending the  use  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
Christian  times."  In  plainer  language  the 
Wang  drew  his  inspiration  from  the  Hexa- 
teuch,  and  other  parts  of  Scripture,  and  with 
his  Oriental  aptitude  for  visions,  convinced 
himself  that  he  was  divinely  commissioned  to 


The  Taiping  Rebellion^  97 

slay  his  idolatrous  countrymen,  and  to  com- 
bine in  his  own  person  the  missions  of  Joshua 
and  King  David. ^  The  Bible,  without  note 
or  comment,  working  on  a  half-educated, 
brooding,  and  unprepared  mind ! 

"The  Christian  insurgents  in  China  never 
had  the  confidence  of  any  part  of  the  nation," 
says  Dr.  Edkins.  The  missionaries  have 
nevertheless  been  much  encouraged  by  the 
Taipings,  whose  conversion  they  deemed  an 
earnest  of  the  evangelization  of  China ;  while 
the  political  aims  and  deplorable  excesses  of  the 
rebels  were  attributed  to,  if  not  excused  by,  the 
absence  of  personal  instruction  by  foreign  mis- 
sionaries, a  wholly  insufficient  account  of  the 
matter. 

To  the  Chinese  government  and  people, 
however,  there  was  no  extenuating  circum- 
stance in  the  movement,  which  they  always 
speak  of  with  unmitigated  horror.  The  impe- 
rial rescript  on  the  report  of  the  death  of  the 

1  "  Supposing  Clovis  had  in  any  degree  '  searched  the  scrip- 
tures '  as  presented  to  the  Western  world  by  St.  Jerome,  he  was 
Ukely,  as  a  soldier-king,  to  have  thought  more  of  the  mission  of 
Joshua  and  Jehu  than  of  the  patience  of  Christ,  whose  sufferings 
he  thought  rather  of  avenging  than  imitating." —  RusKiN. 


98  China  and  Christianity. 

Chief  said  with  a  pathos  rarely  found  in  State 
papers  :  "Words  cannot  convey  any  idea  of 
the  misery  and  desolation  he  caused  ;  the  meas- 
ure of  his  iniquity  was  full,  and  the  wrath  of 
both  gods  and  men  was  roused  against  him/' 

It  is  no  Chimaera,  therefore,  that  the  Chinese 
dread  in  Christianity  but  a  proved  national 
peril,  their  vague  intuitions  of  this  having 
ripened  suddenly  into  a  terrible  experience. 
Perhaps  the  gravest  feature  in  the  Taiping  out- 
break, considered  as  an  episode  of  Christian 
development,  was  that,  although  unforeseen,  it 
was  a  not  unnatural  result  of  the  fermentation 
of  Hebrew  theology  and  theocracy  undiluted,  in 
minds  fretting  at  the  hardness  of  the  problems 
of  life.  Regarded  in  the  light  of  religious 
history  the  great  Christian  insurrection  was  not 
more  extravagant  in  its  combination  of  ferocity 
with  fervour  than  other  moral  hurricanes  which 
have  swept  over  mankind,  though  the  uncon- 
scious blasphemy  of  its  creed  may  perhaps  put 
it  in  a  class  by  itself. 

There  is  here  no  question  as  to  the  intrinsic 
merits  of  the  Taiping  insurrection,  or  the  true 


The  Taiping  Rebellion*  99 

character  of  its  head.  Whether  it  would  have 
been  better  in  the  long  run  for  the  Chinese,  or 
for  the  human  race,  that  the  movement  should 
have  succeeded,  or  whether  the  leader  was  a  hero 
or  an  impostor,  are  speculations  which  have  an 
interest  of  their  own,  but  are  out  of  place  here, 
our  concern  being  only  with  the  phenomena  of 
the  rising,  and  with  the  estimate  formed  of  it 
by  the  Chinese  government  and  people,  who 
have  the  pre-eminent  right  to  judge. 

The  practical  question  is,  what  security  have 
the  Chinese  against  a  repetition  of  this,  or  some 
other  form  of  calamity?  The  depths  of  fanati- 
cism have  not  yet  been  sounded,  nor  the  pos- 
sible vagaries  of  the  human  heart  exhausted. 
Much  the  same  evangelizing  proceedings, 
which  incited  the  Taiping  rebels,  at  least  so  far 
as  the  Chinese  Government  can  be  expected  to 
distinguish,  are  being  carried  on  without  inter- 
mission over  a  vastly  wider  field  ;  and  the  mis- 
sionaries to-day  know  perhaps  as  little  of  the 
ferments  which  they  may  have  set  up  in  thou- 
sands of  minds,^  as  they  did  of  the  incubation 

1  '*  The  Chinese —  both  converts  and  heathen  — know  the  mis- 
sionary better  than  the  missionary  knows  them.     The  fact  .  .  . 


loo  China  and  Christianity* 

of  Talpingdom.  They  disseminate  among 
unknown  millions  the  most  stimulating  litera- 
ture ever  penned,  apparently  without  misgivings 
as  to  the  results. 

would  seem  to  imply  a  strange  inability  on  the  part  of  the  for- 
eigner to  reach  that  mysterious  realm,  the  celestial  mind." — 
Chinese  Recorder,,  August,  1892. 


Anti-Christian  Literature^  loi 


VIII. 

ANTI-CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE. 

Dr.  Wells  Williams  devotes  a  paragraph 
or  two  of  that  standard  repository  of  what  is 
known  about  China,  The  Middle  Kingdom,  to 
the  discussion  of  the  efficacy  of  propagandism 
by  means  of  the  printing  press.  "  Fifty  thou- 
sand books  were  scattered  on  the  coast "  in  cer- 
tain voyages  of  a  semi-missionary  character  in 
1836  and  1837,  "and  more  than  double  that 
number  about  Canton,  Macao  and  their  vicin- 
ity. "  "  No  one  supposed  that  the  desire  to  re- 
ceive books  was  an  index  of  the  abiHty  of  the 
people  to  understand  them  ...  if  the  plan 
offered  a  reasonable  probability  of  effecting 
some  good,  it  certainly  could  do  almost  no 
harmy  What  kind  of  harm  might  be  in  the 
mind  of  the  learned  author  is  not  explained, 
the  worst  fate  suggested  in  the  context  for  the 
harmless  literature  itself  being  to  "  be  cut  up 


I02  China  and  Christianity* 

for  wrapping  medicine  and  fruit,  which  the 
shopman  would  not  do  with  the  worst  of  his 
own  books."  A  generation  later,  one  mission 
press  in  Shanghai  was  pouring  out  thirty 
million  pages  annually,  an  amount  which  was 
more  than  doubled  by  the  other  mission 
presses ;  and  Dr.  Williams,  in  recording  this 
gigantic  feat,^  adds  :  "  The  effects  of  this  litera- 
ture upon  the  native  mind  which  these  agencies 
are  scattering  wider  every  year  will  be  apparent 
in  the  near  future.**  No  doubt ;  but  what  are 
the  fruits  already  apparent  ?  One  crop  ripened 
and  garnered,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  Taiping 
rebellion.  Another  copious  harvest  is  being 
now  gathered  in  ;  the  notorious  Hunan  publi- 
cations. Vile  and  unmannerly  though  these 
be,  they  yet  constitute  a  reply  to  the  pressing 
appeal  of  the  missionaries  to  the  Chinese 
literati,  and  it  is  not  the  challenger  who  has 
the  choice  of  weapons.^     Of  all  the  provinces 

1  "  We  want  quality,  not  quantity.  .  .  .  We  have  an  associa- 
tion Secretary  who  repeats  ad  nauseam  the  word  millions,  and 
whose  cry  is  perpetually  for  ?noney.  You  never  hear  this  cry 
from  Apostles."  —  Rev.  R.  H.  Cobbold,  in  Messenger,  April, 
1892. 

2  "  The  famous  and  infamous  placards  of  the  last   eighteen 


Anti-Christian  Literature*  103 

Hunan  is  the  one  which  has  been  inundated 
with  what  claims  to  be  Christian  literature, 
and  thereby,  Hunan  has  been  provoked  to 
return  samples  of  its  own.  Missionaries,  espe- 
cially of  the  Protestant  sects,  have  in  generous 
emulation  during  fifty  years  been  doing  with 
all  their  might  what  their  Founder  expressly 
warned  them  not  to  do  (Matt.  vii.  6^),  and 
now  they  stand  horrified  at  the  consequences 
which  he  foretold  as  precisely  as  if  this  particu- 
lar case  had  been  in  his  mind. 

It  is  not,  perhaps,  the  holy  things  so  much 
as  the  needlessly  irritating,  possibly  insulting, 
and  really  unedifying  and  unintelligible  things 
sometimes  contained  in  the  "  Christian  "  litera- 

months  are  avowedly  a  counterblast  of  the  Society's  tracts.  If 
the  truth  is  to  conquer  the  foulness  of  error.  ...  we  must  be 
ready  to  stem  the  issuing  stream  by  an  inflow  of  pure  literature." 
—  Hankow  Religious  Tract  Society's  Appeal.  Chinese  Recorder, 
March,  1892. 

1  "  In  pursuing  the  course  described  above  [the  reckless  circu- 
lation of  Christian  literature]  we  have  sometimes  acted  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  spirit  if  not  the  letter  of  our  Saviour's  com- 
mand '  Give  not  that  which  is  holy,  etc'  .  .  .  Our  faiUng  to  fol- 
low the  instructions  of  our  Lord  in  this  respect  may  perhaps 
account  for  the  meagre  and  disappointing  results  which  have  fol- 
lowed the  very  extensive  distribution  of  books  for  the  last  40  or 
50  years." —  Rev.  Dr.  Nevius,  Recorder,  1884. 


I04  China  and  Christianity* 

ture  which  are  the  most  answerable  for  the 
filthy  abuse  which  has  been  lavished  on  the 
missionaries  and  their  faith.  It  is  not  of  course 
to  be  doubted  that  the  editing  ^  and  circulation 
of  tracts  and  scriptures  is  carried  out  as  effi- 
ciently as  the  stupendous  mass  of  matter  dealt 
with  allows,^  but  until  some  competent  and 
independent  sinologue  assumes  the  task  of 
sifting  the  productions  of  the  mission  presses 
the  world  cannot  know  what  incentives  may 
have  been  offered  unwittingly  to  these  Chinese 
revilers.  It  is  by  no  means  impossible  that 
even  the  foulest  of  their  epithets  might  be 
traced  to  some  unhappy  expressions  in  original, 
or  translated  compositions  by  foreign  mission- 
aries impatient  to  try  their  hand  ^  before  acquir- 

1  "  Most  of  these  books,  as  also  the  greater  number  of  articles 
in  the  newspapers  put  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  contain  in- 
digestible stones  instead  of  bread."  —  Dr.  Faber.  But  what  of 
the  no7i- Christian  population  of  Hunan,  and  elsewhere?  Would 
not  "  stones  of  offence "  be  in  their  case  a  more  descriptive 
term? 

2  The  Hankow  Tract  Society  issues  one  million  tracts  every 
year. 

3  "  Perhaps  nothing  has  been  more  hurtful  to  missionaries  in 
preparing  books,  than  haste,  .  .  .  the  desire  to  huriy  it  through 
the  press  lest  some  of  the  readers  of  China  should  die  without 


Anti-Christian  Literature^  105 

ing  sufficient  command  of  that  double-edged 
weapon,  the  Chinese  language ;  or  of  others 
carried  away  by  an  inflexible  conviction  that 
what  is  good  in  season  and  in  appropriate  cir- 
cumstances must  be  good  absolutely  and 
always.  Dr.  Chalmers,  of  Hongkong,  once 
heard  a  Chinese  crowd  laughing  at  the  preach- 
ing of  a  foreigner  who  was  incessantly  repeat- 
ing the  Chinese  name  for  God,  Tien-chu.  But 
his  manner  of  pronouncing  the  words  conveyed 
the  sense  of  "  mad  pig  "  at  every  utterance  of 
which  the  audience  broke  out  into  peals  of 
laughter.  Ex  uno  disce  omnes.  What  could 
missionaries  themselves  not  say  on  such  topics 
would  they  testify  ?  The  incident  is  truly  full 
of  grave  suggestiveness.^ 

Let  it  be  granted  that  the  Christian  literature 
with  which  Hunan  has  been  flooded  is  for  the 
most  part  wholesome  and  void  of  offence. 
The  Chinese  literati,  however,  with  their  strong 

seeing  it  1  In  a  great  majority  of  instances  unprejudiced  judges 
will  be  of  the  opinion  that  the  world  can  afford  to  wait  a  little." 
—  Rev.  Dr.  Nevius,  Recorder,  1884. 

1  The  bestial  expressions  complained  of  in  the  Hunan  pam- 
phlets are  stated  by  the  latest  authorities  to  be  exactly  such  plays 
on  words  as  are  indicated  in  the  text. 


io6  China  and  Christianity* 

prejudices  and  their  foregone  conclusion,  natu- 
rally select  the  parts  most  suitable  for  their 
controversial  purposes  just  as  the  Christian 
missionaries  perhaps  hold  up  the  worst  of  the 
Chinese  tracts  for  execration.  But  could  any 
thing  be  more  untoward  than  the  connection 
of  the  methods  of  propagandism  with  this  ava- 
lanche of  bad  literature  which  issues  continu- 
ously from  Hunan  ?  ^ 

So  far,  however,  are  the  zealous  missionaries 
of  Hankow  and  Wuchang  from  seeing  the 
matter  in  this  light  that  they  make  urgent  ap- 
peals for  increased  means  of  carrying  on  their 
duel  with  the  Hunan  pamphleteers,  only  claim- 
ing that  their  adversary  be  muzzled  while  they 
redouble  their  efforts  to  silence  him. 

1  "  To  oppose  enmity  is  to  increase  it.  .  .  .  There  is  much 
slang  and  obscene  language  in  the  streets  which  we,  in  most  cases, 
cannot  comprehend,  but  may  see  the  effects  of  it  on  the  faces  of 
the  by-standers.  To  go  on  with  a  religious  discourse  under  such 
circumstances  would  show  a  want  of  good  taste  and  judgment  on 
the  part  of  the  preacher.  .  .  .  When  an  audience  shows  signs  of 
profanity  or  indifference,  then,  a  dignified  silence  is  the  best  ora- 
tion. The  Jews  not  only  opposed  the  apostle,  but  they  blas- 
phemed. This  made  any  further  preaching  among  them  hope- 
less." —  Dr.  Faber. 


Anti-Christian  Literature.  107 

With  two  such,  and  so  widely  different 
answers  to  their  message  to  China  before  them 
it  might  seem  reasonable  for  the  propaganda  to 
pause  and  consider  what  form  the  next  answer 
may  possibly  take,  whether  in  the  near,  or  the 
distant  future.  But  it  is  remarkable  that  the 
missionaries,  so  far  at  least  as  they  may  be  con- 
sidered to  be  represented  by  the  two  learned 
gentlemen  above  cited,  seem  scarcely  conscious 
of  the  possibility  of  evil  resulting  from  this 
prodigious  mass  of  what  may  be  called  dy- 
namic literature. 


io8  China  and  Christianity* 


IX. 


CHRISTIANITY    IN    JAPAN. 


Some  readers  who  have  followed  the  theme 
thus  far  may  possibly  wonder  that  while  frequent 
reference  has  been  made  to  other  countries 
there  has  been  no  allusion  to  the  remarkable 
history  of  Christianity  in  Japan.  But  the  cir- 
cumstances of  that  country  and  its  people  are 
so  different  from  those  of  China  that  it  might 
be  misleading  to  make  any  comparison,  except 
as  a  matter  of  curiosity.  Japan  is  a  State  which 
may  be  said  to  have  always  known  its  own 
mind,  and  acted  out  its  opinion.  When  she 
admitted  Christianity  she  did  so  heartily  ;  when 
she  suppressed  it  she  did  so  relentlessly,  but 
not  without  valid  reason  ;  and  when  she  read- 
mitted the  religion  it  was  as  part  and  parcel  of 
the  general  civilization  of  the  Western  nations 
to  which  by  deliberate  choice  Japan  opened 
wide   her  arms.     By  the  promptitude  of  her 


Christianity  in  Japan*  109 

decision  Japan  avoided  all  appearance  of  coer- 
cion by  foreign  powers.     (What,  by  the  way, 
does  Mr.  Bosworth  Smith  mean  by  his  repeated 
references  to  the  criminality  of  Great  Britain's 
wars  with  Japan?)     And  her  treaties  contain 
no  toleration  clauses,  nor  any  that  are  deroga- 
tory to  her  dignity,  although  an  idea  has  been 
kindled  in  recent  years  that  the  extra-territorial 
stipulations  do  belong  to  that  category.    There 
is  consequently  no  true   analogy  between  the 
respective  relations  of  China  and  Japan  towards 
foreign  nations,  foreign   religions  and  foreign 
life.     The  geographical  proximity  of  the  two 
countries  does  no  doubt  suggest  to  the  Western 
world  a  similarity  in  their  circumstances  which, 
however,  is  only  superficial ;  and  if  their  oppor- 
tunities of  observing  each  other  prompt  some 
mutual    emulation,  that    also    is    scarcely  less 
superficial.     Ships  and  guns,  miHtary  drill,  and 
material  appliances   may  be  copied,  but  what 
makes  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  a  nation 
is  too  deep  for  imitation,  it  must  be  a  growth 
from  within,  nourished  though  it  may  be  by 
atmospheric    influences   from  without.     Japan 
seems  to  be  receiving  Christianity  in  its  most 


no  China  and  Christianity 

innocuous  and  enduring  form,  for  the  people 
are  receiving  it,  and  the  pyramid  is  being  built 
on  the  widest  base.  Of  the  many  pleasing 
spectacles  which  a  visit  to  that  tourist's  paradise 
always  affords,  perhaps  none  leaves  a  more 
agreeable  impression  than  the  decorous  worship 
of  large  Japanese  congregations  conducted  en- 
tirely by  natives.  And  the  vernacular  religious 
press  is  now  a  recognized  factor  in  the  social 
system.  The  government  there  has  no  fears 
about  its  Christian  subjects,  whom  it  knows 
only  as  exemplary  citizens  ;  and  it  winks  at  the 
pious  frauds  of  the  foreign  missionaries  who 
take  out  passports  to  travel  for  their  health  or 
in  the  pursuit  of  science,  because  it  recognizes 
that  it  has  the  propaganda  well  in  hand.  The 
establishment  of  the  Catholic  Hierarchy  in 
Japan  affords  the  most  substantial  proof  that 
the  government  of  that  country  has  adopted  a 
policy  of  benevolent  toleration  towards  Chris- 
tianity, based  on  the  conviction  that  it  will 
never  have  to  account  to  foreign  powers  for  its 
attitude  towards  either  the  religion  or  its  fol- 
lowers. Added  to  which,  the  Japanese  people 
are  peculiarly  sensitive  to  all  foreign  influences. 


Christianity  in  Japan.  iii 

and  do  not  present  that  mass  of  stolid  resistance 
which  innovations  encounter  in  China.  The 
circumstances  attending  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  the  respective  countries,  there- 
fore, present  scarcely  anything  but  sharp  con- 
trasts, and  probably  no  lesson  for  China  can  be 
drawn  from  Japan  excepting  such  as  could  only 
be  applied  by  reversing  the  wheel  of  history 
for  fifty  years,  and  undoing  the  chapter  of  evo- 
lution by  which  the  new  Japan  itself  has 
emerged  from  its  secular  isolation. 


112  China  and  Christianity* 


X. 

PRACTICAL    CONSIDERATIONS. 

Reverting  to  the  proposition  with  which 
we  set  out,  China  has  been  compelled  by  na- 
tions stronger  than  herself  to  admit  their  re- 
ligion, which,  after  full  deliberation,  she  had 
decided  to  reject,  and  for  reasons  which, 
whether  good  or  bad,  were  at  least  not  unintel- 
ligible. Nor  has  any  option  been  left  to  her 
as  to  which  of  the  different  forms  of  Christi- 
anity she  would  prefer ;  she  is  forced  to  tol- 
erate the  propagation  of  all  indiscriminately, 
which  is  more  than  the  nations  which  coerce 
her  themselves  do.  In  the  irksome  and  anx- 
ious position  into  which  they  have  been 
thrust,  the  leaders  of  the  Chinese  State  have, 
so  far,  derived  little  support  from  either  foreign 
statesmen  or  the  leaders  of  the  Propaganda. 
Dr.  Williams  himself,  so  long  familiar  to  the 
government    as     Charge    d^  Affaires    for     the 


Practical  Considerations*  113 

United  States,  in  which  capacity  he  must  have 
been  largely  occupied  with  mission  affairs,  had 
no  clearer  or  more  practical  counsel  to  be- 
queath to  China  than  that :  "  The  progress 
of  pure  Christianity"  —  so  easy  to  write!  — 
"  will  be  the  only  adequate  means  to  save  the 
conflicting  elements  .  .  .  from  destroying 
each  other.'* 

The  Chinese  opposition  to  Christianity  dur- 
ing the  last  three  hundred  years  has  undoubt- 
edly taken  arbitrary,  harsh  and  cruel  forms, 
yet  considering  that  during  nearly  the  whole  of 
that  period  the  sovereignty  of  China  was  under 
no  foreign  constraint,  the  forbearance  with 
which  she  has  treated  recalcitrant  missionaries, 
even  during  state  persecutions,  will  compare 
not  unfavourably  with  the  record  of  similar 
persecutions  elsewhere. 

Compelled  by  foreign  powers  suddenly  to 
reverse  the  engines  of  state  policy  which  had 
been  gathering  momentum  in  one  direction  for 
some  centuries,  the  Chinese  government  has 
met  the  new  conditions  in  as  accommodating 
a  spirit  as  could  perhaps,  under  the  circum- 
stances,   have    been   expected.     At    the    same 


114  China  and  Christianity. 

time  it  is  plain  to  be  seen,  and  ought  to  have 
been  foreseen,  that  an  act  of  state  was  not  effi- 
cacious to  change,  as  by  a  magician's  touch,  the 
hearts  of  a  nation  and  of  a  numerous  official 
hierarchy. 

Whether  the  Western  governments  were 
well  or  ill-advised  in  this  exercise  of  their 
power  is  now  of  little  practical  significance. 
The  historical  transaction  cannot  be  undone, 
nor  the  status  quo  ante  in  any  manner  restored. 
It  remains  only  to  be  considered,  what  is 
China  to  do  with  regard  to  this  force,  —  in- 
scrutable, indomitable,  inflexible,  yet,  on  its 
own  conditions,  passionately  benevolent  ? 

She  cannot  exclude  or  repress  it,  any  more 
than  she  can  exclude  Influenza  or  the  Mon- 
soon. She  must  receive  it.  She  has  already 
done  so  indeed,  but  with  a  bad  grace  —  as  was 
natural  —  and  grudgingly  ;  a  most  dangerous 
half-measure.  For  she  has  by  her  treaties 
given  to  foreign  powers  at  least  the  semblance 
of  the  legal  right  to  call  her  to  account  if  she 
fails  to  protect  Christian  missionaries,  while  by 
her  furtive  and  wavering  action  she  allows  offi- 
cials and  people  to  furnish  the  foreign  powers 


Practical  Considerations.  115 

with  constant  pretexts  for  exercising  that  right. 
No  position  could  be  more  hazardous  for 
China,  as  many  of  her  public  men,  who  know 
something  of  the  Western  world,  must  be  well 
aware.  The  pressure  of  Christianity  will  never 
abate  ;  it  will  on  the  contrary  augment,  and  if 
it  is  difficult  now  to  maintain  an  erect  position 
in  its  presence  it  may  be  impossible  to  do  so 
hereafter  when  the  foreign  religion  has  con- 
solidated its  strength.  In  short,  unless  some 
other  agency  anticipates  its  slower  action,  Chris- 
tianity may  be  the  force  destined  eventually  to 
dissolve  the  Chinese,  as  it  did  the  Western 
empire,  and  to  destroy  the  present  fabric  of 
its  society.^ 

To  announce  danger  is  easy  ;  not  so  the 
task  of  concerting  measures  to  avert  it.  The 
difficulty  of  an  effective  co-ordination  of  the 
component  forces  of  the  Chinese  State  being 
formidable,  the  temptation  to  temporize  is 
strong,  for  there  is  no  man  living,  however 
pessimistic,  but  may  expect  the  status  quo  to 
last  at  least  his  time,  if  not  a  good  while  beyond 
it.     Few  there  be  who  dare  to  face  the  unpopu- 

1  See  Note  p.  37. 


ii6  China  and  Christianity^ 

larity  which  a  judicious  regulation  of  Christian 
affairs  would  entail  in  a  country  where  there  is 
so  much  to  lose,  so  little  to  gain,  by  the  active 
display  of  public  spirit.  The  parallel  between 
the  China  of  to-day  and  the  Rome  of  1800 
years  since,  though  imperfect  and  in  many 
respects  invalid,  yet  in  certain  features  runs  so 
close,  that  an  imaginative  Chinese  might  almost 
read  the  destiny  of  his  own  country  in  the 
events  of  that  remote  time.  The  Caesars  were 
tolerant  of  the  new  religion,  thinking  it,  might 
mingle  harmlessly  with  the  numerous  existing 
systems  which,  like  it,  had  come  mostly  from 
the  East.  Though  in  theory  it  violated  the 
laws,  the  Emperors  were  reluctant  to  put  the 
laws  in  force  ;  and  though  without  sympathy 
for  the  sect,  they,  like  Kien-lung,  could  find 
no  real  fault  in  it,  and  were  always  recom- 
mending the  Christians  to  mercy.  Nor  was 
the  deference  paid  by  the  Caesars  to  popular 
sentiment  very  unlike  that  now  shown  by 
the  Chinese  Emperors  to  provincial  opinion. 
Then,  as  now,  the  rulers  were  willing  to  pro- 
tect Christians  alike  from  popular  violence  and 
official    animosity,  and    though    even    Marcus 


Practical  Considerations*  117 

Aurelius,  a  man  saturated  with  ethics,  allowed 
himself  to  be  constrained  to  issue  severe  edicts 
against  the  Christians,  like  K^ang-hsi  1500 
years  after  him,  yet  as  Mr.  Lecky  records, 
"  the  atrocious  details  of  the  persecutions  in 
his  reign  were  due  to  the  ferocity  of  the  popu- 
lace and  the  weakness  of  the  governors  of  dis- 
tant provinces,"  a  not  inapt  description  of  some 
of  the  anti-Christian  outrages  in  modern  China. 
Unfortunately  the  experience  of  Rome  fur- 
nishes no  lessons  for  China  except  in  the  way 
of  warning,  and  neither  the  ages  of  tumult 
during  which  the  present  Europe  was  being 
evolved,  nor  the  actual  position  of  these  West- 
ern countries  afford  her  any  positive  guidance; 
for  none  of  them  can  be  said  to  have  dealt 
successfully  with  the  religious  problem.  The 
United  States  of  America,  indeed,  though  not 
without  a  struggle,  enjoy  the  supreme  happi- 
ness of  religious  and  political  equilibrium,  but 
that  is  the  result  of  a  situation  absolutely 
unique,  which  cannot  be  imitated.  The  adjust- 
ment of  the  relations  of  Christianity  to  the 
Chinese  State  therefore  can  only  be  evolved, 
without  direct  aid  from    precedent,  from    the 


ii8  China  and  Christianity* 

action  of  general  principles  which  may  be 
deduced  from  a  diversity  of  experience.  Re- 
ligious enthusiasm  is  a  contingent  factor,  on 
which  the  Taiping  episode  sheds  but  a  dim 
light ;  and  as  to  the  form  which  Christianity 
will  assume  when  eventually  acclimatized  in 
China,  all  that  may  safely  be  predicted  is  that 
the  new  amalgam  will  be  unlike  anything  that 
has  yet  appeared  in  the  world.  Its  main  char- 
acteristics, however,  will  probably  be  to  an  in- 
definite extent  determined  by  the  circumstances 
of  its  mode  of  introduction.  Which  is  a  vital 
question  for  Chinese  Statesmen  and  imperial 
counsellors  to  consider,  could  they  but  per- 
ceive its  urgency. 

The  problem  is  necessarily  abstruse  where 
unknown  psychological  factors  are  concerned  ; 
and  assuredly  no  solution  of  it  will  be  attempted 
here.  Nor  is  it  perhaps  within  the  competence 
of  any  man  to  work  out  an  equation  containing 
so  many  unknown  qualities.  What  may  be 
done,  however,  is  to  indicate  one  or  two  primary 
canons  which  should  govern  legislative  and 
administrative  dealings  with  the  subject,  canons 
based  on  ascertained  and  unalterable  facts.    For 


Practical  Considerations*  119 

though  the  end  of  a  journey  may  be  hidden  in 
mist  one  may  advance  in  confidence  if  only 
the  first  steps  be  in  the  right  direction,  trusting 
that  the-  way  may  become  clear  as  successive 
stages  are  reached. 

I.  The  first  canon  by  which  the  relations 
of  Christianity  should  be  regulated  may  be 
stated  without  hesitation.  It  is  the  complete 
fulfilment  of  existing  obligations.  China  has 
undertaken  by  treaty  to  protect  missionaries 
and  to  tolerate  Christianity,  and  she  must  pro- 
tect and  tolerate  accordingly,  without  equivo- 
cation or  reserve.  No  matter  if  the  obligation 
was  imposed  by  force,  the  nation  and  the  gov- 
ernment stand  bound  to  it  in  law,  and  therefore 
in  honour,  at  least  until  they  find  themselves 
strong  enough  to  make  a  fresh  appeal  to  the 
tribunal  under  which  the  foreign  treaties  were 
imposed.  To  protect  nominally,  and  yet  se- 
cretly persecute,  or  connive  at  persecution,  is 
not  only  a  device  unworthy  of  a  civilized  gov- 
ernment and  of  a  body  of  highly  educated  men 
like  the  Chinese  ofiicial  class,  but  it  is  also  the 
road  to  ruin.     Unless  therefore  the  ministers 


I20  China  and  Christianity^ 

who  are  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the  State 
can  nerve  themselves  to  the  required  resolution 
it  will  be  futile  to  discuss  or  manoeuvre  at  all 
in  this  matter,  for  whatever  they  do  will  be 
vain  so  long  as  the  fundarqental  condition  of 
success  is  not  complied  with. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  Chinese 
government  so  fulfilling  its  obligations  to  for- 
eigners are  partially  understood,  and  sympa- 
thized with  by  foreigners.  But  that  feeling 
does  not  diminish  by  a  feather's  weight  the 
gravity  of  the  duty.  The  Imperial  govern- 
ment is  naturally,  and  properly,  reluctant  to 
humiliate  its  Viceroys  to  please  foreigners,  who 
are  the  objects  of  common  aversion.  The 
Viceroys  have  still  stronger  temptations  to 
evade  their  duty  to  foreigners  whenever  it  re- 
quires them  to  reprove  their  own  subordinates, 
or  still  worse,  bring  under  the  discipline  of  the 
law  men  of  influence  who  are  detached  from 
the  regular  service  of  the  State.  Yet  nothing 
less  than  this  is  imperatively  required  of  all 
who  occupy  posts  of  trust  in  the  government. 
It  is  a  duty,  however,  which,  Hke  many  others, 
may  be  harder  in  anticipation  than  in   execu- 


Practical  Considerations.  121 

tion,  and  one  which  might  evolve  the  needed 
strength  by  the  action  itself.  A  firm  resolu- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Central  government  to 
tolerate  no  evasions  from  either  high  or  low 
would  of  itself  more  than  half  accomplish  the 
object,  and  one  or  two  conspicuous  examples 
made  of  contumacious  officials  might  achieve 
it  altogether.  When  men  are  sincere  they  are 
usually  taken  at  their  word,  and  the  rulers  of 
China  would  find  their  word  would  pass  as 
good  current  coin  of  the  realm  as  soon  as  they 
gave  clear  proof  to  their  servants  that  they  in- 
tended to  make  it  so. 

Reduced  to  practice  this  canon  would  make 
short  work  of  anti-Christian  rioters  and  of  the 
authors  and  publishers  of  calumnious  attacks 
on  Christians,  as  such.  The  men  who  have 
long  been  screened  by  powerful  influences 
from  the  consequences  of  their  shameless 
deeds  would  be  punished  like  common  male- 
factors, and  the  government  would  not  wait  to 
be  stirred  to  action  by  foreign  officials  or  pub- 
lic demonstrations,  but  would  in  all  cases  be 
beforehand  with  them,  and  thus  leave  abso- 
lutely no  ground  of  complaint. 


122  China  and  Christianity* 

How  far  the  Chinese  government  and  rul- 
ing classes  are  at  present  from  the  attainment 
of  such  a  standard  of  national  duty  need  not 
be  said.  But  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  re- 
iterated that  it  is  only  in  the  full  realization  of 
the  administrative  ideal  thus  indicated  that  the 
government  can  hope  to  find  salvation. 

II.  The  relations  between  the  civil  author- 
ities and  the  Christians  should  be  settled  and 
defined. 

It  is  too  late  in  the  day  perhaps  to  regret 
that  there  should  ever  have  arisen  any  question 
of  special  treatment  of  converts  to  Christianity. 
It  is  the  wisdom  of  China,  as  of  other  states, 
to  make  all  her  people  equal  before  the  law ; 
and  it  is  the  foreign  powers  which  are,  prima- 
rily, answerable  for  forcing  her  government  to 
deal  with  native  Christians  as  if  they  really 
constituted  a  State  within  the  State.  But  Chi- 
nese provincial  officials  have  fallen  easily  into 
this  way  of  regarding  them  ;  notwithstanding 
that  it  was  opposed  to  the  declared  policy  of 
the  empire.  (See  Appendix  I.)  It  would  in- 
deed be  hard  to  say  which  of  the  two   parties 


Practical  Considerations*  123 

—  the  Christian  or  the  anti-Christian  —  has 
evinced  the  greatest  eagerness  to  effect  the 
complete  isolation  of  Christians  from  the  body 
of  the  Chinese  people.  The  questions  deserve 
to  be  calmly  weighed  :  —  whether  the  segre- 
gating process  shall  be  allowed  to  extend ; 
whether  it  shall  be  arrested  at  the  point  which 
it  has  now  reached;  or  whether  even  a  retro- 
grade movement  towards  obliteration  of  the 
legal  distinction  between  Christian  and  Hea- 
then shall  be  inaugurated. 

The  holding  of  property  away  from  the 
commercial  ports  by  missionaries,  under  the 
French  treaties  of  1858-60,  seemed  to  neces- 
sitate the  official  recognition  of  the  Mission 
as  a  corporation,  since  individuals  could  not 
by  the  rules  of  their  Orders  acquire  sites  or 
erect  Churches  in  their  own  right,  and  so  the 
missions  naturally  became  identified  with  the 
congregations.  But  sound  property  legisla- 
tion is  one  of  the  chief  pivots  on  which  the 
peace  and  order  of  communities  turn ;  and 
from  the  Chinese  political  point  of  view  it 
was  probably  a  misfortune  that  the  missions 
in  their  collective   character  ever  obtained    so 


124  China  and  Christianity. 

much  necessary  consideration  from  the  local 
authorities  as  to  have  buildings  and  ground 
officially  registered  in  their  name.-^ 

The  sequel  is  still  an  unwritten  chapter  of 
history,  but  hints  are  given  from  so  many 
quarters,  native  and  foreign,  as  to  leave  little 
doubt  of  the  fact  that  congregations  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  interior  are  prone  to  club  together 
for  the  common  defence,  and  to  abuse  the 
protection  which  their  foreign  pastors,  under 
the  aegis  of  foreign  treaties,  are  able  to  give 
them.  It  is  the  same  spirit  that  prompts  the 
native  servants  of  Europeans  at  the  treaty 
ports  to  rely  on  the  prestige  of  their  employ- 
ers to  screen  them  from  the  consequences  of 
their  insolence  to  their  countrymen.  Experi- 
enced missionaries  have  to  be  constantly  on 
their  guard  against  plausible  complaints  of 
injustice  made  to  them  by  their  converts,  but 
younger  and  more  eager  men,  and  those  who 
are  constitutionally  disposed  towards  partisan- 
ship "  rush  in  "  where  the  more  wary  "  fear  to 

1  The  Chinese  government  found  it  necessary  during  the 
Ming  dynasty,  to  limit  the  landed  possessions  of  Buddhist  mon- 
asteries to  60  mu,  or  10  acres. 


Practical  Considerations*  125 

tread ; "  and  take  part  in  village-law  suits 
which  they  are  able  to  conduct  with  greater 
ability  and  force  than  natives  working  on  their 
unaided  resources.  It  may  be  admitted  that 
the  habitual  laxity  and  dilatoriness  which  char- 
acterize Oriental  procedure  offer  constant 
temptation  to  impatient  outsiders  to  intervene 
in  order  to  accelerate  the  despatch  of  business. 
Nothing  but  injury  to  the  Christian  name, 
however,  can  result  from  such  illegitimate 
interferences,  while  it  is  not  Christianity  that 
is  really  at  fault,  but  the  cupidity  of  men,  who 
may  have  entered  the  Christian  community 
solely  from  these  secondary  motives.^ 

It  would  seem  to  be  a  very  fair  thing  for 
the  Chinese  government  to  appeal  to  the  con- 
sideration of  Western  governments  in  this 
matter,  and  if  it  could  but  come  into  court 
with  clean  hands,  that  is  to  say,  having  scru- 
pulously fulfilled  its  own  obligations  under 
treaty,  the  Western  governments  could 
scarcely  help  listening  to  the  plaint. 

1  "  Whole  villages  have  offered  to  turn  Christians  "  to  gain 
"  the  powerful  influences  of  foreigners  on  their  side  in  some  liti- 
gation." —  Rev.  R.  H.  Graves,  in  Chinese  Recorder. 


126  China  and  Christianity* 

All  foreigners  residing  or  travelling  in  the 
interior  under  passport  should  be  strictly  for- 
bidden by  their  own  authorities  from  med- 
dliTig  in  any  dispute  between  Chinese,  whether 
Christians  or  not.  Such  prohibition  need  not 
in  the  least  impair  the  influence  of  private 
counsel  in  promoting  goodwill,  but  as  there  is 
no  judgment  in  the  common  affairs  of  life 
more  fallible  than  that  of  the  average  ecclesi- 
astic, of  any  communion,  such  an  interdict 
could  not  but  have  a  salutary  effect  on  the 
peace  of  Chinese  communities. 

That  some  Christian  pastors  would  vehe- 
mently resist  any  legislation  tending  to  disinte- 
grate their  Christian  communities  is  highly 
probable ;  and,  from  their  point  of  view,  they 
would  have  valid  reasons  on  their  side.  There 
is  doubtless  this  real  difficulty  in  the  way,  that, 
as  the  Chinese  Christian  by  breaking  away 
from  the  traditions  of  his  family  and  neigh- 
bours generally  forfeits  his  status  as  a  member 
of  the  clan  or  village-community,  it  is  natural 
that  he  should  strive  to  regain  the  lost  position 
through  the  creation  of  a  new  caste,  or  social 


Practical  Considerations*  127 

unit,  —  the  Christian  commune,  with  its  offi- 
cers corresponding  to  village  elders,  and  enjoy- 
ing equal  legal  recognition  with  the  villages 
themselves.  Dr.  Faber,  whose  logical  mind 
cannot  rest  in  equivocations,  claims  these  privi- 
leges in  the  clearest  terms,  on  the  broad,  if 
somewhat  ingenious,  ground,  that  the  Chris- 
tians, having  by  the  foreign  treaties  been 
absolved  in  certain  matters  from  the  law  of 
the  land,  obey  the  paramount  Divine  Law, 
which  gives  them  the  right  to  toleration,  and 
toleration  means  privileges.  It  may  be  as 
much  the  duty  of  the  Christians,  as  such,  to 
prefer  these  claims  as  it  is  of  the  government 
to  deny  them  ;  but  there  is  here  in  fact  the 
germ  ^  of  the  secular  trouble  between  the 
religious  and  the  civil  power.  A  Christian 
body  capable  of  unlimited  expansion,  follow- 
ing a  divine  law  which  is  above  the  law  of  the 
land,  with  the  Christians  themselves  as  its  sole 
interpreters,   is    precisely   that    kind    of  social 

1  The  germ  of  that  phase  of  the  development  of  Europe 
which  is  thus  epigrammatically  summed  up  by  Ranke :  "  Eccle- 
siastical estates  were  no  longer  described  as  situated  in  certain 
counties,  but  these  counties  were  described  as  situated  in  the 
bishoprics." 


128  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

organism  which  any  civil  government  may  jus- 
tifiably treat  with  reserve/  But  how,  then, 
it  may  be  asked,  is  the  adjustment  between 
the  parties  to  be  effected,  and  a  modus  vivendi 
to  be  established.  The  government  might 
reply  that,  as  it  is  the  Christians  who  have 
created  the  difficulty,  it  is  for  them  either  to 
find  a  solution  or  to  bear  the  inconvenience 
of  waiting  until  one  is  found  ;  but  that  the 
government  meanwhile  has  the  duty  to  dis- 
charge of  preventing  any  Christian  or  other 
body  from  getting  the  upper  hand  of  the  civil 
magistrate. 

In  practice,  no  doubt,  the  danger  to  the 
Chinese  government  from  the  political  aspira- 
tions of  Christians  is  much  diminished  by  the 
miscellaneous  character  of  the  Christian  bodies. 
They  have  divided    themselves,  and    may  be 


^  "  To  permit  this  would  be  to  make  the  professed  doctrines 
of  religious  belief  superior  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  in  effect 
to  permit  every  citizen  to  become  a  law  unto  himself.  Govern- 
ment could  exist  only  in  name  under  such  circumstances."  — 
Judgment  of  Chief-Justice  Morrison  R.  Waite,  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  —  ScHAFF. 

"  If  government  commands  us  to  act  against  conscience  and 
right,  disobedience  becomes  a  necessity  and  a  duty."  —  Ibid. 


Practical  Considerations*  129 

more  easily  ruled  than  if  they  were  compact ; 
and  so  a  state  of  things  which  is  to  be  deplored 
from  the  point  of  view  of  Christian  progress 
serves  conveniently  to  lighten  somewhat  the 
burden  of  the  government. 

III.  A  third  canon  would  provide  for  the 
preservation  of  peace,  and  the  prevention  of 
wanton  provocations  between  different  religion- 
ists. Rival  sects  should,  by  virtue  of  the 
power  inherent  in  every  civilized  state  to  main- 
tain order  among  its  people,  be  compelled  to 
keep  their  feelings  under  discipline  in  all  as- 
semblies and  public  places.  The  objects  and 
the  rites  of  Christian  worship  are  not  infre- 
quently reviled  or  mocked,  and  the  anger  of 
the  worshippers  thereby  provoked ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  far  from  uncommon  for 
converts,  and  even  for  missionaries  themselves, 
to  inveigh  against  the  native  customs  and  the 
native  gods  ;  both  practices  tending  to  breaches 
of  the  peace,  which  ought  therefore  to  be  made 
amenable  to  the  law.^     Sometimes  the  attacks 

1  "  If  any  person  shall  abuse  or  deride  any  other  for  his  or 
her  different  persuasion  and  practice  in  a  matter  of  religion  he 
shall  be  looked  upon  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace  and  be  punished 
accordingly."  —  Laws  of  Pennsylvania. —  SCHAFF. 


ijo  China  and  Christianity* 

on  idolatry  are  made  in  mere  mockery,  ex- 
amples of  which  find  their  way  into  foreign 
journals,  and  are  presumably  common  in  the 
preaching  of  evangelists.^  This  is,  to  say  the 
least,  bad  taste;  but  it  is  more,  it  is  an  offence 
against  decency  to  cast  ridicule  on  the  honest, 
however  mistaken,  devotions  of  a  fellow-mor- 
tal ;  ^  and  it  is  an  offence  both  against  good 
order  and  the  laws  of  hospitality  when  it  is 
done    by    an    alien.^      The    first    Apostles    of 

1  "Anybody  acquainted  with  Chinese  will  soon  find,  if  he 
attends  the  foreign  street  chapels  a  few  times,  that  the  hostile 
attitude  of  many  missionaries  towards  the  most  cherished  beliefs 
and  feelings  of  the  Chinese  is  frequently  expressed  in  a  most 
offensive  manner.  As  for  the  books  ...  let  those  interested 
read  some  of  the  elementary  catechisms  or  some  of  the  books 
deahng  with  ancestral  worship,  idolatry  or  other  superstitions  of 
the  Chinese,  and  he  will  find  these  things  discoursed  on  in  any- 
thing but  a  kindly  spirit.  Chinese  hear  offensive  statements  in 
the  chapels,  get  angry,  and  denounce  the  missionary  to  their 
friends.  They  read  the  books  .  .  .  and  determine  to  pay  out 
the  hated  barbarian  at  the  first  opportunity."  —  "A  Sincere 
Friend  to  Both  Parties." — N.  C.  Herald,  26th  February,  1892. 

^  "  To  revile  vath.  malicious  and  blasphemous  contempt  the 
religion  professed  by  almost  the  whole  community  is  an  abuse  of 
that  right"  [the  right  of  "free  and  decent  discussion."]  —  Chief 
Justice  Kent  in  Supreme  Court  of  New  York,  1811.  —  Schaff. 

^  The  foreign  missionaries  sometimes  applaud  the  courage 
of  their  converts  in  openly  reviling  the  false  gods,  and  sometimes 
they  deplore  the  indiscretion  of  such  sallies,  according  to  circum- 
stances and  individual  temperament. 


Practical  Considerations.  131 

Christianity  were  particularly  tender  with  the 
religious  susceptibilities  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  moved,  so  that  the  sensible  magis- 
trate, the  town-clerk  of  Ephesus,  in  his  address 
to  the  rioters,  was  able  to  testify  that  these 
early  missionaries  "  were  not  blasphemers  of 
our  goddess.'*  Their  successors  in  the  next 
two  or  three  centuries  were  not  so  considerate ; 
iconoclasm  becoming  rampant  with  the  corrup- 
tion and  the  triumph  —  almost  synonymous 
terms — of  the  Church,  when  the  great  Am- 
brose allowed  himself  to  scoff  even  at  the 
virginity  of  the  poor  Vestals.  It  were  a  good 
and  laudable  thing  if  all  blaspheming  of  each 
other's  gods  could  be  rigorously  suppressed  by 
the  civil  power.  This  is  also  a  matter  on 
which  Western  governments  might  be  ap- 
proached, and  solicited  to  frame  appropriate 
rules  for  the  governance  of  their  nationals. 
Then  a  foreign  missionary  affronting  native 
religion  in  any  public  manner  might  first  be 
warned  by  the  local  authority,  and,  if  recalci- 
trant, conducted  to  the  nearest  consul  for  de- 
portation, while  condign  punishment  would  be 
equally  meted  out  to  any  Chinese  who  should 


132  China  and  Christianity. 

vituperate  Christianity.  Complete  reciprocity 
in  this  matter  should  be  insisted  upon,  and 
each  party  made  to  do  as  he  would  be  done  by.^ 

Two  drawbacks  to  any  such  procedure  will 
readily  suggest  themselves :  the  laxity  and 
irregularity  of  Chinese  official  practice  ;  and 
the  scarcely  avoidable  abuses  by  underlings. 
The  most  difficult  attainment  for  a  Chinese 
official  is  to  maintain  a  just  measure  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  functions,  —  to  be  firm  without 
being  harsh  ;  and  the  difficulty  of  furnishing 
foreign  governments  with  adequate  guarantees 
for  moderation  would  probably  prove  fatal  to 
any  arrangement  whereby  new  powers  over 
foreigners  would  be  placed  in  Chinese  hands. 

Meagre  and  superficial  though  these  sugges- 
tions be,  and  perhaps  not  judiciously  selected 
from  the  heap  of  desiderata,  they  are  yet  so  far 
in  advance  of  what  is   proximately  realizable 

1  As  for  the  sectarian  quarrels  of  Christians  inter  se,  prob- 
ably no  regulations  could  be  framed  to  check  them;  but  the 
spectacle  of  two  foreign  missionaries  meeting  in  a  Chinese  thor- 
oughfare, one  warning  the  people  against  the  religion  of  Henry 
VIII.,  and  the  other  against  the  worship  of  a  mere  woman,  can 
hardly,  one  would  think,  advance  either  of  the  divisions  of  Chris- 
tianity, or  be  approved  by  any  reasonable  man. 


Practical  Considerations*  133 

that  it  would  serve  no  purpose  of  interest  or 
utility,  at  this  stage,  to  pursue  that  part  of  the 
subject  into  greater  detail. 

Nevertheless  the  procedure  here  recom- 
mended involves  no  theoretical  innovation,  for 
the  principles  are  only  those  which  have  been  ex- 
phcitly  and  repeatedly  laid  down  by  the  highest 
authority  in  the  land,  and  are,  moreover,  based 
on  the  religious  toleration  which  was  worked 
out  centuries  ago,  and  became  the  settled 
national  policy  not  later  than  the  Sung  dynasty, 
A.D.  960-1280.  The  Edicts  of  Tao  Kwang 
may  be  taken  as  a  convenient  starting  point  for 
the  new  departure  in  Christian  toleration  (see 
Appendix  I.),  and  all  the  State  papers  which 
have  been  issued  during  the  past  fifty  years 
have  been  in  harmony  therewith.  The  Gov- 
ernor Shen  Pao-chen,  in  1862,  developed  the 
doctrine  of  toleration  with  a  breadth  of  charity 
towards  Christians  which  left  little  to  be  desired, 
and  what  gave  the  highest  value  to  his  memo- 
rials is  that  his  expositions  were  not  theoretical, 
but  were  suggested  by  specific  occurrences  within 
his  official  jurisdiction  to  which  he  fearlessly 
applied  the  principles  deduced  from  his  obser- 


134  China  and  Christianity* 

vation  of  facts  and  his  knowledge  of  the  impe- 
rial policy.  The  same  official,  when  Viceroy 
of  Kiangnan  in  1876,  had  occasion  once  more 
to  discuss  the  rules  which  should  govern  the 
relations  between  foreign  missionaries  and  the 
Chinese  people,  when  he  pushed  his  former 
arguments  into  still  greater  detail ;  his  de- 
spatches convinced  Dr.  Edkins  that  Shen  Pao- 
chen  "  anticipated  the  spread  of  Christianity  in 
China  to  proceed  in  the  same  way  as  was  the 
case  with  Buddhism  and  Taoism  in  former 
centuries."  And  Dr.  Edkins  takes  Shen  Pao- 
chen  as  the  mouth-piece  of  his  government. 

Tseng  Kuo-fan,  than  whom  no  more  authori- 
tative exponent  of  the  permanent  policy  of 
China  has  been  known  in  this  century,  in  a 
memorial  which  was  never  intended  for  publi- 
city, also  lays  down  the  same  law  of  toleration, 
for  "  while  other  religions  rise  and  fall  from  age 
to  age  the  doctrines  of  Confucius  survive  un- 
impaired throughout  all  ages."  And  so  all 
other  authentic  public  documents. 

What  is  needed,  therefore,  is  to  give  practi- 
cal effect  to  the  declared  will  of  the  government, 
and  had  this  been  done   sooner,  overt  violence 


Practical  Considerations*  135 

towards  the  missionaries  might  possibly  have 
been  avoided,  however  far  the  people  might 
have  been  from  receiving  their  teaching. 

Before,  however,  practically  considering  any 
general  regulations  for  mutual  toleration,  there 
is  one  preliminary  duty  incumbent  on  the 
Chinese  government  in  order  to  qualify  it  for 
entering  on  the  discussion.  It  must  deal  de- 
cisively with  obnoxious  publications  such  as 
those  which  are  regularly  issued  from  Hunan. 
By  these  productions  the  literature  of  China  is 
stamped  with  indelible  disgrace,  for  since  their 
offensiveness  has  provoked  foreigners  to  repub- 
lish them  they  will  henceforth  expose  to  all  the 
world  the  ignorance,  vulgarity,  and  intellectual 
prostitution  of  Chinese  scholars,  as  well  as  their 
contemptible  attainments  in  the  graphic  art. 
In  this  guise  will  the  writers  of  the  Ta-tsing 
dynasty  enjoy  an  immortality  of  infamy  in  all 
Western  lands,  for  these  choice  specimens  of 
their  works  will  be  preserved,  like  flies  in  amber, 
in  every  Hbrary  in  Europe  and  America.  The 
Hunan  scholars  will  be  known  in  future  genera- 
tions as  those  who  in  order  to  injure  foreigners 


136  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

did  not  scruple  to  debauch  the  minds  of  their 
countrymen  with  ideas  as  filthy  as  they  are 
false.  These  disgusting  books  are  acknowl- 
edged to  be  the  efficient  cause  of  the  riots 
which  bring  humiliation  on  the  government 
and  penalties  on  the  people.  The  names  of 
their  authors  are  well  known,  thanks  chiefly  to 
the  pertinacious  investigations  of  Dr.  Griffith 
John,  who  has  done  admirable  service  in  the 
elucidation  of  the  history  of  these  matters  ;  but 
because  they  are  literary  graduates  enjoying 
the  protection  of  high  personages  ^  the  authors 
have  been  allowed  to  escape  the  penalty  of  their 
disloyal  acts.  If  the  government  be  not  will- 
ing to  extinguish  this  source  of  conflagration 
then  it  is  evading  its  obligations  under  the 
foreign  treaties  and  making  itself  a  participator 
in  the  crime,  thus  exposing  itself  to  reprisals  at 
the  hands  of  foreign  powers  whenever  it  may 
suit  their  convenience  to  enforce  their  rights. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  government  be  not 

1  "  He  (Chou  Han)  knows  well  that  he  is  looked  upon  as  a 
philanthropist,  that  he  has  the  real  sympathies  of  the  officials  on 
his  side,"  —  Dr.  Griffith  John  in  N.  C.  Daily  News,  19th 
April,  1892. 


Practical  Considerations.  137 

able  to  suppress  this  infamous  literature,  then 
it  is  not  the  Emperor  who  rules,  but  the  authors 
and  pubHshers  of  these  pamphlets.  In  either 
case  these  publications,  so  long  as  they  are  in 
circulation,  constitute  a  standing  inculpation  of 
the  government,  which  will  warrant  foreign 
powers  in  assuming  its  guilt  in  any  given  case, 
without  further  inquiry. 

What  is,  perhaps,  more  serious  still  is  that 
the  same  or  similar  shocking  calumnies  against 
Christians  are  repeated  in  the  King-sz-wen,  the 
collection  of  State  papers,  treaties,  memorials, 
etc.,  before  cited,  the  latest  edition  of  which, 
pubHshed  in  1888,  came  out  under  the  auspices 
of  Chinese  officials  occupying  the  highest  posi- 
tion in  the  State. 


138  China  and  Christianity* 


XL 


RELATION    OF    CHRISTIANITY    TO    PEOPLE,     LITE- 
RATI,   AND    IMPERIAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Let  it  be  assumed,  however,  that  a  working 
scheme  for  the  treatment  of  Christianity  based 
on  such  general  principles  as  have  been  sug- 
gested shall  have  been  elaborated  and  carried 
into  effect  —  a  very  large  assumption  indeed  — 
still  the  end  of  the  Christian  troubles  would  by 
no  means  have  been  reached.  The  hostility 
of  the  literary  and  official  classes,  though  out- 
wardly suppressed,  would  suffer  no  real  abate- 
ment, but  would  smoulder,  like  a  subterranean 
fire,  ready  to  break  forth  whenever  the  repres- 
sion was  relaxed. 

The  popular  suspicions  also  would  persist 
virtually  intact ;  the  dread  of  witchcraft,  the 
belief  in  secret  abominations,  the  mutilations 
of  the  sick  or  dead,  and  all  the  rest,  still  would 
remain  to  be  lived  down  slowly.     Substituting 


Relation  of  Christianity^  139 

impiety  towards  ancestors  for  atheism  these 
imputations  are  substantially  identical  with 
those  made  against  the  primitive  Christians  in 
the  West,  where  they  survived  through  several 
centuries  of  Christian  progress.  The  pulses  of 
China  do  not  beat  faster  than  those  of  the 
Western  races,  nor  is  the  intelligence  of  the 
common  people  more  advanced.  And  if  it 
should  take  a  century  or  two  for  the  Chinese 
Christians  to  clear  their  characters  from  these 
odious  suspicions  there  is  no  help  for  it,  and 
the  Christians  must  even  learn  to  bear  it,  until 
they  can  convert  their  present  minority  into  a 
majority,^  when  the  charges  would  vanish  into 
air.  Possibly  the  censorious  eyes  of  neigh- 
bours may  even  be  a  salutary  discipline,  keep- 
ing the  converts  on  their  good  behaviour. 
The  finer  qualities  of  Christianity  shine  bright- 
est in  adversity,  and  the  Church  would  be  in 
evil  case  were  all  men  to  speak  well  of  it. 
This  reflection  might  even  be  stretched  to 
cover  persecution  in  general  as  being  condu- 

1  "  We  have  patiently  to  wait  till  a  powerful  minority,  if  not 
a  majority,  of  the  Chinese  people  is  Christianized." — Dr. 
Faber. 


140  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

cive  to  the  healthy  growth  of  Christianity  ;  for 
to  what  extravagances  might  an  unopposed 
Chinese  Church  not  run  !  ^  Woe,  indeed,  be 
to  him  by  whom  the  offence  comes,  but  still, 
to  apply  a  phrase  coined  for  a  very  different 
occasion,  to  the  opposition  to  Christianity  in 
China,  si  elle  n  exist  ait  pas  ilfaudrait  Vinventer. 
In  one  respect  the  Chinese  Christians  have 
the  advantage  over  their  Western  prototypes. 
They  do  not  themselves  give  countenance  to 
the  calumnies,  whereas  the  early  Christians  did 
not  scruple  to  throw  at  the  heads  of  heretics 
the  vile  accusations  brought  by  the  heathen 
against  themselves.  Nor  is  it  certain  that  such 
inter-Christian  amenities  have  entirely  disap- 
peared even  yet  from  contemporary  history  in 
the  West.^ 

1  "  Rome  is  best  when  competing  with  Protestant  rivals  —  in 
the  midst  of  hostile  criticism  and  alien  institutions  ;  worst  w^hen 
she  has  it  all  her  own  way." —  R.  H.  Hutton. 

2  A  recent  occurrence  in  Europe  illustrates  the  vitality  of 
these  odious  superstitions.  In  the  town  of  Xanten,  in  Rhenish 
Prussia,  a  boy  was  found  in  a  shed  dead  from  a  wound  in  his 
throat.  Suspicion  fastened  at  once  on  a  Jewish  butcher  named 
Buschoff,  owing  to  the  popular  belief  that  the  Jews  require  blood 
at  certain  seasons  for  their  religious  rites,  and  the  artistic  cut  in 
the  boy's  neck  being  held  to  betray  the  practised  hand  of  the 
carnifex.     The    Christian    people  became  so  infuriated  against 


Relation  of  Christianity*  141 

While  waiting,  however,  for  the  populace  to 
get  their  minds  purged  from  these  degrading 
notions  something  may  and  ought  to  be  done 
by  the  officials  and  literati  to  uncover  the  real 
truth  in  regard  to  Christian  practices.  They 
have  at  once  the  means  and  the  intelligence  to 
sift  the  facts  and  to  prove  or  disprove  what 
has  been  alleged.^  It  is  true  that  even  officials 
and  scholars  are  credulous  enough  to  beheve 
many  of  the  slanders  which  are  circulated 
about  foreign  missionaries.    The  Emperor  Tao 

the  Jew  that,  to  save  him  from  being  lynched  more  Americano, 
the  authorities  took  him  in  charge  and  put  him  on  his  trial.  The 
testimony  of  the  witnesses  was  vociferous  and  overwhelming, 
the  gentry  corroborating  the  populace;  but  when  subjected  to 
the  cool  analysis  of  the  lawyers  the  evidence  was  shown  to  be 
only  crystallised  gossip,  the  offspring  of  an  inveterate  general 
belief  in  the  occult  practices  of  the  Jews.  But  had  not  the 
accused  conclusively  established  an  alibi  it  might  still  have  gone 
hard  with  him.  So  great,  indeed,  was  the  excitement  that  the 
official  responsible  for  the  trial  at  first  demanded  a  battalion  of 
soldiers  to  keep  order,  the  burgomaster  declining  to  be  answer- 
able for  the  peace  of  the  town.  Eventually  the  dignity  of  the 
legal  tribunal  was  maintained  without  the  resort  to  military  force. 
These  things  took  place  in  the  best  educated  country  in  Europe 
in  the  summer  of  1892. 

^  See  the  emphatic  contradiction  of  the  false  reports  of  a 
magistrate  given  in  Li  Hung-chang's  memorial  published  in  the 
Peking  Gazette  of  i6-i7th  February. 


14^  China  and  Christianity* 

Kwang  himself,  when  issuing  an  Edict  of  tol- 
eration/ as  we  have  seen,  could  not  help 
encouraging  the  belief  that  the  Christians  really 
picked  out  the  eyes  of  the  sick.  But  with  all 
mission  establishments  and  practices  thrown 
open  to  the  inspection  of  Government  officials 
—  a  thing  which  is  gradually  coming  to  be 
thought  necessary  —  there  would  be  no  excuse 
for  these  officials  continuing  in  their  present 
state  of  dangerous  ignorance.  And  when  they 
shall  have  once  satisfied  their  own  minds  they 
can  the  better  clear  away  the  doubts  of  the 
common  people  by  disseminating  truthful  re- 
ports. If  the  literates  of  Hunan  are  willing 
to  expend  their  time  and  money  in  printing 
and  publishing  calumnies  which  befoul  the 
paper  they  are  written  on,  it  would  be  a  small 
thing  for  the  officers  of  the  government  to 
give  the  pubHc  the  benefit  of  their  discoveries 
in  the  region  of  ascertained  fact.  And  this 
would  be  no  more  than  a  tardy  reparation  for 
the  injury  done  to  the  reputation  of  the  Chris- 
tians and  for  the  debauching  of  the  imagina- 
tions of  the  illiterate  masses. 

1  Appendix  I. 


Relation  of  Christianity^  143 

Were  a  modus  vivendi  ever  established  with 
the  populace  and  the  literati  the  relation  of 
Christianity  to  the  Supreme  government  itself 
would  probably  present  fev/  difficulties.  From 
the  earliest  appearance  of  foreign  religions  in 
the  country  the  sovereign  has  been,  as  a  rule, 
favourably  disposed  towards  each  of  them  in 
succession ;  and,  except  in  the  few  instances 
where  devotion  to  one  creed  biassed  them 
against  others,  the  Chinese  Emperors  have  been 
the  defenders  of  the  struggling  religion  against 
the  attacks  of  the  official  hierarchy.  With  such 
a  record  before  them  the  hope  of  Christianity 
being  one  day  established  as  the  national  faith 
may  easily  assume  a  concrete  shape  in  the 
minds  of  the  foreign  missionaries.  Perhaps  it 
is  the  dream  of  some  and  the  ambition  of 
others  that  Christianity  may  once  again  secure  a 
footing  in  the  Imperial  palace.  One  emperor, 
indeed,  of  the  present  dynasty  has  already  tan- 
talized the  propaganda  with  delusive  hopes, 
standing  near  the  baptismal  font,  but  intending 
only  to  deceive  the  missionaries.  Members 
of  his  family  were  actually  converted,  and  in 
the  persecution  which  ensued  on  the  death  of 


144  China  and  Christianity^ 

Kang-hsi  the  first  and  greatest  victim^  were 
the  princes  and  princesses  of  the  imperial 
house.  One  was  said,  indeed,  to  have  stood 
very  near  the  throne,  perhaps  too  near,  for 
Oriental  autocrats  do  not  relish  in  their  sight 
too  many  eligible  successors,  and  it  is  not 
altogether  incredible  that  the  virulence  with 
which  Yung-cheng  pursued  the  Christians  was 
inspired  by  the  jealousy  which  he  naturally 
felt  of  his  own  brothers  and  their  conversion 
was  perhaps  the  only  pretext  under  which 
he  could  lay  hands  on  them/  A  century 
before  the  reign  of  Yung-cheng,  a  Chinese 
Constantine  and  an  Empress  Helena  were 
baptized,  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  Mings  in 
Kwangsi.  The  time  may  come  when  an  actual 
occupant  of  the  Dragon  Throne  may  take  the 
plunge.  But  in  the  interest  alike  of  Christian 
progress  and  national  peace  it  is  to  be  hoped 
the  consummation  of  such  hopes  may  be  de- 
ferred, long  enough  at  least  to  allow  Chris- 
tianity to  have  first  rooted  itself  in  the  country 

1  "  The  Jesuits  in  Peking  joined  a  plot  to  supplant  this 
emperor  by  a  younger  brother." — Rev.  J.  Ross,  Chijiese  Re- 
corder, August,  1892. 


Relation  of  Christianity^  145 

by  the  force  of  its  own  principles.^  A  Christian 
Emperor  would  be  a  doubtful  blessing  whether 
he  were  a  mere  political  convert  Hke  Constan- 
tine,  or  a  religious  Fury  like  Saint  Louis,  or 
some  Taiping  Wang  with  a  passion  for  putting 
nonconformists  to  the  sword.  In  any  of  the 
cases  that  can  be  conceived,  the  consequences 
almost  certainly  would  be  what  they  have 
always  been,  the  fanatics  and  the  quacks,  even 
though  in  a  small  minority,  ruling  the  Church, 
importing  into  their  administration  of  it  all  the 
time-worn  abuses,  each  section  serving  its  own 
turn  by  abetting  the  schemes  of  the  others.^ 
The  fanatics,  from  the  moment  of  their  obtain- 


1  "  In  the  Christianizing  of  Britain  the  work  uniformly  began 
with  the  King  and  nobles,  and  from  them  worked  down  to  the 
lower  classes,  instead  of  leavening  first  the  people  and  finally 
reaching  the  King.  .  .  .  This  explains  the  ease  with  which  the 
profession  of  Christianity  could  be  made  or  unmade  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  ruling  sovereign,  and  explains  also  how  the  gross- 
est heathenism  could  linger  long  after  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
had  been  baptized."  —  Rev.  H.  Kingman,  in  Chinese  Recorder, 
September,  1892. 

2  "  To  all  movements,  wise  or  foolish,  flock  the  two  classes 
of  follower,  the  sincerely  convinced  and  the  insincerely  affiliated ; 
those  who  think  they  are  establishing  the  law  of  righteousness 
on  this  earth,  and  those  who  see  nothing  but  their  own  advan- 
tage."—  Mrs.  Lynn  Linton,  Nineteenth  Century,  March,  1882. 


146  China  and  Christianity. 

ing  the  power,  would  turn  on  those  sects  which 
they  might  deem  heretical  and  crush  them  by 
the  aid  of  the  politicians,  who  would  care  for 
none  of  these  things.  And  like  the  persecu- 
tion of  dissidents  and  unbelievers  in  Europe 
and  Western  Asia  the  oppression  of  Chinese 
by  Chinese  under  an  orthodox  empire  might 
even  exceed  that  inflicted  under  a  heathen 
regime.  A  nation  thus  rent  by  religious  fac- 
tion, or  dominated  by  a  religious  party  would 
be  a  sorry  result  of  Christian  effort.  Yet  even 
that  is  one  of  the  conceivable  dangers  ahead, 
remote  as  it  may  now  appear. 

Such  gruesome  speculations  may  evoke  pro- 
tests, and  the  pure  principles  of  modern  Chris- 
tianity combined  with  the  refinement  of  the 
twentieth  century  may  be  appealed  to  as  guar- 
anty of  a  reign  of  peace  and  charity  under  any 
possible  Christian  rule.  But  there  is  no  sort 
of  ground  for  beheving  that  China  will  begin 
her  Christian  development  just  at  the  point 
which  Europe  has  reached  after  1900  years  of 
conflict;  and  the  principles  of  modern  Christi- 
anity are  not  purer  than  those  of  the  primitive 
Church,  which   no  sooner  combined  with  the 


Relation  of  Christianity^  147 

passions  of  men  than  disturbances  resulted 
which  have  never  entirely  subsided.  The  re- 
ligion has  to  assimilate  in  China,  as  elsewhere, 
the  local  worship,  mythologies,  popular  super- 
stitions,—  modifying  them  perhaps  out  of 
recognition.  It  has  to  absorb,  and  eventually 
to  transmute,  dormant  passions  of  an  order 
low,  but  of  torrential  force  when  excited,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  ultimate  resultant  being  beyond 
human  calculation.  Organisms  which  have 
maintained  a  measured  and  regulated  life  in 
regions  where  they  have  been  long  accli- 
matized are  apt  to  develop  unsuspected  en- 
ergies when  transplanted  to  new  situations.  So 
perhaps  it  may  be  with  the  Christianity  which 
is  hereafter  to  cover  China ;  no  one  can  foresee 
how  it  will  modify  and  be  modified  by  its  en- 
vironment, nor  toward  which  of  the  existing 
forms  it  may  approximate.  Until  therefore 
the  religion  has  established  itself  in  the  com- 
mon life  of  the  people^  its  professors  may  well 
deprecate  its  adoption  by  the  State.  Converts 
are  not  often  made  to  Christianity  in  the  ab- 

1  "  The  gospel  should  first  strike  root  in  the  hearts  of  simple- 
minded  persons  who  receive  it  for  what  it  is."  —  Dr.  Faber. 


148  China  and  Christianity^ 

stract/  but  to  some  branch  or  section  of  the 
Church.  Which  ?  let  them  ask  themselves 
who  may  be  tempted  to  pray  for  an  imperial 
proselyte,  and  a  national  Church. 

There  remains  a  present  and  practical  point 
of  contact  between  the  Imperial  Throne  and 
the  propagation  of  Christianity,  which  is  some- 
times alluded  to  by  the  foreign  press.  In 
the  Sacred  Edict,  or  series  of  Homilies  insti- 
tuted by  the  Emperor  K^ang-hsi  and  amplified 
by  his  successors,  and  appointed  to  be  pub- 
licly read  twice  a  month  in  all  the  cities  of  the 
empire  (in  imitation,  it  is  supposed,  of  the 
preaching  of  the  early  missionaries)  there  is  an 
article  which  animadverts  on  the  tenets  of 
Christianity  and  warns  the  people  against  that 
religion.  With  a  superficial  show  of  reason, 
this  is  claimed  by  some  foreign  missionaries  to 
be  in  contradiction  to  the  toleration  clauses  in 
the  various  foreign  treaties.  But  the  point  is 
of  dubious  validity.  In  the  first  place  a  doc- 
trinal admonition  is  not  an  incentive  to  vio- 
lence ;    nor   is    the    toleration    of   Christianity 

1  President  Lincoln,  a  profoundly  religious  man,  attached 
himself  to  no  Church. 


Relation  of  Christianity.  149 

inconsistent    with    opposing   it    by    argument. 
In  the  second  place  the  passage  in   the   Sacred 
Edict  should   be  taken  in  its  practical  rather 
than  in  its  theoretical  bearing.      For  an  Em- 
peror dehberately  to  rescind  the  solemn  enact- 
ment of  a  revered  ancestor  would    be  a   very 
extreme  measure ;  to  expunge   even   a  section 
would  be  a  serious  matter.     It  is  in  fact  never 
done.     The  Chinese  Emperors  are  as   careful 
not  to  run  counter  to  the  public  acts   of  their 
predecessors  ^  as  the    Popes  are  to  maintain  at 
least    apparent    harmony    in     their    successive 
Bulls  ;  and  in  cases  where  a  reversal  of  policy 
may  become  a   State  necessity,  the  most  con- 
summate skill  in  the  manipulation  of  phrases, 
with  a  view  to  keeping  up  the   semblance   of 
consistency,    is    called    into    play,    as    well    in 
Peking  as  in  Rome.     It  appears  however  the 
officials  of  their  own  accord   discovered  a  via 
media  by  which  the  susceptibilities  of  the  for- 
eigner were  spared,  for  as    Dr.   Edkins  relates 
in    his    work   on     "Religion    in   China,''    the 

1  This  is  fully  recognized  in  the  temperate  letter  from  the 
Evangelical  Alliance  in  Shanghai  to  H.  E.  Mr.  Von  Brandt, 
Doyen  of  the  Diplomatic  body.  —  Messenger,  April,  1892. 


150  China  and  Christianity* 

Town-Clerk  of  Shanghai,  as  probably  in  other 
places  where  there  were  foreigners,  simply 
omitted  the  objectionable  clause  in  his  fort- 
nightly reading.  Like  the  Commination  ser- 
vice and  the  Athanasian  Creed  in  many 
English  churches,  it  was  treated  as  an  anach- 
ronism, and  allowed  quietly  to  drop. 

The  animus  of  the  Edict  becomes  further 
attenuated  when  the  reference  to  Christianity 
is  taken  in  connection  with  similar  reflections 
on  Taoism  and  Buddhism,  the  idolatrous  prac- 
tices of  which  are  held  up  to  the  people  as 
matters  to  be  shunned.  For  the  emperor  who 
propounded  the  Edict  himself  openly  patron- 
ized the  Buddhists,  as  his  successors  have  done 
on  several  marked  public  occasions.  Indeed 
the  Lama  government  of  Tibet  which  the 
Emperors  had  no  choice  but  to  support,  pro- 
viding large  establishments  for  the  worship  and 
residence  of  the  priests  within  and  without  the 
walls  of  Peking  itself,  would  have  made  any 
real  opposition  to  Buddhism  on  the  part  of  the 
Emperors  somewhat  ridiculous. 

It  has  been  shown,  however,  by  Dr.  Griffith 
John  that    the  article    in  the   Sacred  Edict  is 


Relation  of  Christianity^  151 

appropriated  by  the  Hunan  pamphleteers  as  a 
base  for  their  calumnies,  and  as  the  justification 
of  the  outrages  to  which  they  incite  the  people. 
And  he  therefore  claims  the  rescission  of  the 
passage  in  chapter  seven  of  the  Skeng-yu  which 
has  been  so  used.  "  The  expunging  of  this 
one  passage  .  .  .  would  do  more  than  any- 
thing else,"  etc. 

This  is  not,  however,  the  first  time  in  reli- 
gious history  that  atrocities  have  been  justified 
by  the  misuse  of  sacred  texts,  yet  it  has  never 
been  proposed  that  the  passages  so  used  should 
be  forthwith  expunged  from  the  Canon.  The 
condemnation  of  those  who  had  dared  so  to 
pervert  the  sense  of  the  Sacred  Edict  ^  would 
probably  have  been  in  this  case  a  more  feasible 
thing  to  demand  and  a  simpler  thing  for  the 
government  to  grant. 

1  "It  is  not  the  first  time  that  superstitious  and  rancorous 
fanaticism  has  quoted  respectable,  and  even  really  sacred  writings 
in  its  favor  ...  I  hope  it  is  not  too  late  to  plead  that  the  grave, 
and  on  the  whole  reasonable  edict  may  not  be  associated  by  any 
but  the  Hunan  criminals  with  their  foul  productions." — Bishop 
Moule. 


152  China  and  Christianity* 


XII, 


ADMINISTRATIVE    MACHINERY. 

The  Reformatory  proposals  of  this  charac- 
ter which  are  freely  thrown  out  by  foreigners 
on  all  sides  for  the  guidance  of  the  Chinese 
government,  seem  to  be  after  all  quite  anoma- 
lous. The  whole  practice  of  foreign  agents 
tinkering  at  details  of  internal  administration 
needs  reconsidering.  The  circumstances  of 
China  and  the  passive  temper  of  the  govern- 
ment have  admitted  far  more  of  this  kind  of 
interference  than  would  be  tolerated  in  any 
other  country,  but  the  results  have  scarcely 
justified  the  departure  from  orthodox  usage, 
and  some  more  effective  remedy  should,  if 
possible,  be  devised. 

Treaties  were  forced  on  the  empire  engaging 
it  to  new  and  unknown  obligations.  As 
regards  one  class  of  these,  the  commercial 
stipulations,    much    care    was    taken    on    both 


Administrative  Machinery*         153 

sides  to  provide  machinery  whereby  the  treaty 
provisions  could  be  put  in  force  smoothly,  and 
a    body    of   "  Trade    Regulations "    far    more 
elaborate  than  the  treaties  themselves,  and  of 
equal  authority,  were  drawn  up  by  competent 
officials.      If  such    precautions  were  necessary 
with  regard  to  a  matter  so  clear  and  intelligible 
as  commerce,  how  much  more  was  it  necessary 
to  provide  for  the  operations  of  religious  prop- 
agandism  respecting  which  it  was  quite  certain 
that  there  was  no  common  intelligence  between 
the  parties  !     Yet  the  sweeping  clause   grant- 
ing religious  toleration    once    inserted    in    the 
treaties,  the  negotiators  seem  to  have  given  no 
further  thought  to  the  matter,  leaving  the  prac- 
tical solution  of  the  question  to  be  the  sport 
of  accident.     The  Rev.   G.  T.   Candhn,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Manchester  Guardian,  has  pointed 
out  this  defect  in  a  very  lucid  manner,  and  he 
attributes  much  of  the  missionary  troubles  to 
that  very  cause.      No  consideration    whatever 
was  shown  to  the  Chinese  government  which, 
ignorant  of  the  plans  by  which  the  propaganda 
intended  to  fulfil  this  part  of  the  treaty,  was 
left  to  discover  them  gradually  by  the  collis- 


154  China  and  Christianity* 

ions  between  the  evangelists  and  the  officials 
and  people.  It  was  as  if  the  British  Parlia- 
ment were  to  vote  Home  Rule  for  Ireland, 
and  leave  Orangemen  and  Catholics  to  work 
out  the  details  in  the  streets. 

Take  for  illustration  the  single  item  of  the 
acquisition  of  sites  and  construction  of  build- 
ings, the  acknowledged  source  of  three-fourths 
of  all  the  missionary  disturbances  in  China. 
At  the  Treaty  ports  where  foreign  consular 
agencies  are  maintained  in  effective  activity,  the 
most  minute  precautions  are  prescribed  by 
authority  with  a  view  to  the  prevention  of 
friction  between  foreigners  and  natives.  The 
Consul  has  to  be  a  party  to  negotiations  for  the 
purchase  of  ground,  has  to  approve  of  every 
step,  and  to  investigate  if  there  be  any  secret 
impediments  to  the  transfer  to  the  foreign 
buyer.  After  completion  of  the  transaction 
the  title  deeds  issued  by  the  local  Chinese 
authority  have  to  be  deposited  with  the  Con- 
sul who  retains  control  of  all  subsequent  trans- 
fers. Every  safeguard  is  thus  provided  against 
disputes  in  places  where  communities  of  for- 
eigners and  natives  have  learned  through  the 


Administrative  Machinery.  i^S 

daily  intercourse  of  life  to  tolerate  each  other, 
and  where  therefore  the  dangers  arising  from 
misunderstandings  are  but  slight. 

But  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  several 
weeks'  journey  from  any  consul,  where  there 
is  nothing  but  raw  inflammable  material  on 
one  side  and  zealous  men,  perhaps  undisci- 
plined in  the  common  affairs  of  life,  on  the 
other,  not  only  are  no  proper  regulations  pro- 
vided for  the  aquisition  of  property,  but  even 
the  legal  rights  of  the  missionaries  are  left 
without  any  authoritative  definition.  One 
half  of  them  in  fact  proceed  on  one  theory  of 
their  legal  status  under  treaty,  and  the  other 
on  another,  with  none  to  guide  them  in  their 
interpretation  of  state  documents  which  may 
be  inconsistent  with  each  other  ;  and  they  are 
left  to  discover,  perhaps  by  the  light  of  their 
burning  houses,  those  hidden  flaws  in  the 
tenure  of  ground  which  at  a  treaty  port  would 
have  been  ascertained  for  them  by  their  Con- 
sul before  the  consummation  of  the  purchase. 

Chinese  of^cials,  perplexed  by  the  uncer- 
tainties of  these  proceedings,  are  sometimes 
tempted    to    seek    an    illegitimate    remedy  by 


156  China  and  Christianity. 

making  in  particular  localitLes  rules  which  are 
one-sided  and  unworkable.  Foreign  critics, 
perceiving  the  offence  more  clearly  than  the 
provocation,  denounce  such  tentative  regula- 
tions as  subtle  devices  to  hinder  missionary 
work.  And  though  no  doubt  such  would  be 
in  many  cases  their  effect,  it  would  be  fairer  to 
consider  them  as  in  their  inception  a  protest 
against  certain  defects  in  the  international 
arrangements,  for  which  the  foreign  treaty 
powers  are  chiefly  responsible. 

And  even  when  explosions  have  occurred 
the  foreign  governments  instead  of  taking  the 
whole  question  seriously  in  hand  and  endeav- 
ouring to  concert  with  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment a  working  scheme  whereby  missionaries 
and  people  might  co-exist  in  peace  have  been 
content  with  spasms  of  recriminations  and 
occasional  interferences  with  the  administration. 
There  was  a  specific  always  ready  for  each 
new  outbreak,  and  simply  by  forcing  such  and 
such  a  measure  on  the  Chinese  the  foreign 
ministers  flattered  themselves  that  they  were 
laying  the  ghost  of  missionary  trouble.  At 
one  time  it  might  be  some  proclamation  or  the 


Administrative  Machinery^         157 

placarding  of  treaties  that  was  to  have  the 
magic  effect  of  settling  everything ;  at  another 
an  Edict  was  insisted  on  ;  and  yet,  again,  the 
partial  abrogation  of  some  older  Edict ;  or  the 
arrest  and  punishment  of  an  individual  man, 
or  the  personal  visitation  of  foreign  officials  to 
the  scene.  On  one  special  occasion  —  un- 
connected, however,  with  Christian  troubles  — 
the  government  was  superseded  in  its  func- 
tions by  an  itinerant  judicial  commission  com- 
posed of  the  nominees  of  a  foreign  Minister 
who  imagined  he  could  thereby  elicit  informa- 
tion in  the  remote  interior  which  official 
efforts  combined  to  conceal  from  him.  All 
such  devices  imposed  by  foreigners  were  of 
course  easily  rendered  nugatory  by  the  ostensi- 
ble compliance  but  secret  frustration  of  the 
government.^     In  a  country,  too,  where  false 


1  "  In  the  proclamations  put  out  under  foreign  pressure  the 
animus  was  perceptible  to  all  who  could  read  between  the  lines. 
...  So  evident  was  it  that  the  proclamation  of  August  30th  [in 
Canton]  had  caused  the  riots  that  one  of  the  Consuls  at  least, 
plainly  told  the  Viceroy  so,  and  the  Chinese  generally  admit  that 
the  issuing  of  this  paper  was  a  grave  mistake."  —  Rev.  R.  H. 
Graves. 

"  Such  a  proclamation  would  have  had   no   more   effect  in 


158  China  and  Christianity^ 

accusation  has  been  elaborated  into  a  fine  art 
it  were  futile  to  rely  on  the  text  of  official 
papers  for  protection.  All  the  Christians  in 
China  might  be  persecuted  to  death  without  a 
single  allegation  against  them  respecting  their 
religion.  The  memorial  of  Kiying  in  1844, 
which  heralded  the  new  era  of  toleration,  is 
based  on  the  alleged  continuity  of  the  imperial 
policy,  which  had  never  interdicted  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  though  it  had  punished  persons 
accused  of  criminal  practices,  who  happened  to 
be  Christians.^  A  Chinese  official  who  is 
degraded,  and  deserves  it,  is  rarely  charged 
with  the  real  offence,  but  some  other,  often 
far-fetched,     delinquencies     are     trumped     up 

Macedonia  than  so  many  dozens  of  them  have  had  in  China."  — 
Dr.  Faber,  Paul. 

"  It  is  a  common  custom  for  the  Court  of  Peking  to  issue 
double  sets  of  instructions  for  the  provincial  governors.  One  set, 
appearing  in  the  Gazette,  is  intended  for  the  eye  of  the  foreign 
ministers  .  .  ,  but  it  is  the  other  set  which  represents  the  real 
policy  of  the  government."  —  Shanghai  a?td  Hankow  Committee 
of  Evangelical  Alliance,  1885, 

1  The  systematic  duplicity  is  well  exposed  in  a  publication  by 
the  late  Peng  Yu-lin,  which  has  recently  been  translated  under 
the  title  of  *'  Indulgent  Treatment  of  Foreigners,"  and  issued  from 
the  office  of  the  Shanghai  Mercury  .  It  is  a  most  important  con- 
tribution to  the  elucidation  of  these  questions. 


Administrative  Machinery.  159 

against  him.  No  doubt  there  may  be  valid 
reasons  for  this  oblique  manner  of  proceeding, 
as,  for  instance,  that  the  real  charge  might 
implicate  third  parties  whom  it  was  not  desired 
to  censure ;  but  at  any  rate  the  practice  is  con- 
secrated by  immemorial  usage,  and  the  Chris- 
tians have  no  ground  for  expecting  immunity 
from  its  operation.  None  of  these  empirical 
remedies  in  fact  ever  have  had  the  desired 
effect  on  the  relations  between  the  people  and 
the  missionaries,  and  the  suggestive  faculties 
of  the  foreign  officials  have  been  exhausted 
without  result. 

The  problem  was  in  truth  much  too  deep  to 
be  solved  in  any  such  perfunctory  manner,  and 
obviously  the  foreign  ministers  ought  either  to 
have  dug  down  to  the  roots  of  the  question, 
or  treated  it  in  quite  another  fashion,  for  their 
fitful  interferences  and  nerveless  discussions 
have  only  served  to  relieve  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment of  much  of  its  moral  responsibility 
for  the  execution  of  the  treaties.  The  Treaty 
Powers  ought  in  fact  still  to  make  good  their 
great  omission,  and  in  concert  with  China, 
draw  up  "  Missionary  Regulations  "  as  they 
did  Trade  Regulations  thirty-four  years  ago. 


i6o  China  and  Christianity* 

But  what  would  have  been  easy  if  done  at  the 
proper  time  would  not  be  so  now,  owing  to  the 
accumulated  difficulties  which  invariably  close 
in  over  neglected  opportunities.^  A  combina- 
tion of  the  foreign  powers  would  seem  to 
be  essential  to  the  drafting  of  any  general 
scheme,  but  unfortunately  there  is  no  agree- 
ment among  them,  and  as  far  as  present 
appearances  indicate  there  is  no  near  prospect  of 
any.  When  the  treaties  were  made  there  was 
practical  harmony  between  the  only  powers  then 
represented,  and  whatever  they  might  have 
established  would  have  bound  all  subsequent 
treaty-makers.^      Then,  the    thirty-four    years 

1  On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  thirty  years'  experience  of 
legalized  missionary  work  has  furnished  data  for  practical  rules  of 
intercourse  which  could  hardly  have  been  anticipated  by  the 
original  negotiators  of  treaties.  The  conditions  of  travel  and 
residence  might  now  be  more  intelligently  defined,  and  the  pass- 
port system  —  to  specify  one  item  —  so  far  modified  as  to  confer 
the  status  of  permanent  resident  on  missionaries  who  are  now 
officially  recognized  only  as  travellers  in  the  country. 

2  It  should  be  remembered,  to  the  credit  of  the  statesmanship 
of  Lord  Elgin,  that  when  negotiating  the  English  Treaty  he  re- 
strained himself  from  extorting  concessions  from  China  which  in 
time  to  come  might  be  taken  undue  advantage  of,  under  their 
most-favoured-nation  clauses,  by  Powers  which  having  taken  no 
part  in  the  opening  of  the  country,  might  be  less  sensible  of  re- 
sponsibility than  the  original  Treaty  powers. 


Administrative  Machinery.  i6i 

years  which  have  elapsed  since  Christianity 
was  legalized  and  left  to  pursue  its  way  in 
China,  while  they  have  been  fruitful  in  valu- 
able experience  have  also  given  time  for  the 
growth  of  such  irritation  among  officials  and 
people  as  to  embitter  intercourse  between  them 
and  the  foreign  and  native  Christians.  The 
situation  has  consequently  become  so  compli- 
cated that  a  bold  initiative  seems  to  be  required 
from  one  quarter  or  another  to  restore  a  work- 
ing equilibrium.  The  foreign  powers,  how- 
ever, not  only  abstain  from  taking  such  initia- 
tive, but  give  a  freezing  reception  to  tentative 
proposals  emanating  from  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment. The  Memorandum  of  1871  ^  remains, 
with  all  its  faults,  the  only  attempt  as  yet  made 
to  bring  about  an  amicable  agreement,  and  the 
Powers  to  whom  it  was  addressed  have  neither 
discussed  it  nor  made  any  counter-proposals  of 
their  own. 

If,  however,  the  foreign  governments,  from 
whatever  cause,  refuse  to  assist  in  the  elabora- 
tion of  a  scheme  of  missionary  relations,  their 

1  As  this  state  paper  is  often  referred  to  and  is  not  always 
accessible,  it  is  given  in  extenso,  as  Appendix  II. 


1 62  China  and  Christianity* 

safest  alternative  would  be  to  leave  the  details 
of  internal  administration  alone,  and  simply  to 
insist  on  every  Treaty  engagement  being  ful- 
filled to  the  letter,  letting  the  Chinese  find  for 
themselves  the  modus  operandi.  It  is  a  recog- 
nized principle  in  international  affairs  that 
domestic  legislation  is  overruled  by  Treaty 
obligations,  and  where  there  is  inconsistency 
between  the  two,  it  rests  with  the  government 
in  fault  to  accommodate  its  internal  machinery 
to  its  external  engagements  in  the  way  most 
convenient  to  itself.  The  other  party  merely 
holds  to  the  Treaty  and  requires  its  fulfil- 
ment, refusing  to  discuss  the  mechanism  of  ad- 
ministrative economy,  which  it  could  never  in 
any  case  understand. 


Mutual  Obligations*  163 


XIII 


MUTUAL    OBLIGATIONS. 


The  government  and  the  literary  classes  of 
China  are,  as  we  have  seen,  engaged  in  a  con- 
test, sometimes  secret,  sometimes  open,  with  a 
spiritual  force  whose  true  nature  they  under- 
stand less  than  they  do  the  nature  of  electri- 
city ;  a  force  which  would  gladly  live  on  good 
terms  with  them,  but  which,  in  any  case,  will 
live  with,  and  probably  after,  them. 

Their  objections  to  the  Western  religion, 
whether  well  or  ill-founded,  can  in  no  wise  be 
allowed,  for  Christianity  will  not  be  denied  en- 
trance, no  matter  what  obstacles  be  opposed 
to  it. 

The  Western  governments,  on  the  other 
hand,  which  broke  down  the  Chinese  wall  and, 
by  right  of  conquest,  compelled  the  nation  to 
receive  foreign  missionaries,  were,  and  are, 
morally    bound    to  assist   the   government    of 


164  China  and  Christianity* 

China  to  devise  means  whereby  the  unwelcome 
reHgion  may  be  admitted  with  the  minimum  of 
friction  ;  but  they  evade  the  obHgation.  Nei- 
ther, indeed,  could  they  fulfil  it  if  they  would, 
without  such  union  among  themselves  as,  un- 
der existing  circumstances,  seems  unattainable. 
For  a  moment's  reflection  on  the  respective 
positions  of  the  Great  Powers  is  sufficient  to 
show  the  unlikelihood  of  any  steady  concerted 
action  among  them.  Though  in  national 
concerns  nice  scruples  have  to  give  way  to  im- 
perious interests,  there  still  exists  something  in 
the  nature  of  a  public  conscience  to  whose  re- 
quirements the  most  powerful  states  pay  at 
least  a  formal  deference.  More  than  one  of 
the  Powers  having  relations  with  China  would 
find  their  hands  somewhat  tied  by  considera- 
tions of  this  kind.  What  sincerity,  for  exam- 
ple, might  Russia  be  expected  to  throw  into 
any  scheme  of  forcible  protection  of  a  propa- 
ganda in  China,  which  at  home  she  utterly 
prohibits  ?  Anti-clerical  France,  which  subor- 
dinates her  interest,  even  in  the  Catholic  mis- 
sions, to  her  other  ends  could  never  be  relied 
on  to  support  in  China  those  Protestant   mis- 


Mutual  Obligations.  165 

sions  which  she  expels  from  her  African  do- 
minions. How,  again,  could  the  United 
States  join  in  pressing  China  to  receive  and 
protect  either  American  or  other  missionaries 
while,  in  the  face  of  treaty  engagements,  they 
refuse  standing  room  for  Chinese  on  their 
wide  territory  ?  And  Spain  —  what  figure 
would  she  make  as  the  Defender  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  ?  There  would  re- 
main of  course  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and 
Italy,  catholic  and  comparatively  clean-handed, 
who  might  act  together  with  a  tolerably  easy 
conscience.  But  is  it  quite  sure  that  such 
a  triple  alliance  would  be  allowed  by  the  ab- 
stinents  a  free  hand  to  protect  Christianity  in 
China  ?  Experience  seems  rather  against  such 
a  supposition.  The  concert  of  the  Powers, 
therefore,  appears  to  be  little  more  than  a 
diplomatic  platitude,  and  viewed  in  this  light, 
the  armed  forces  of  Christendom  have  con- 
ferred on  Christianity  in  China  only  a  compro- 
mising alliance  while  leaving  it,  in  the  stress  of 
conflict,  to  the  mercy  of  exasperated  foes,  yet 
ready  nevertheless  to  step  in,  in  the  last  resort, 
to  avenge  some  ideal  atrocity. 


1 66  China  and  Christianity^ 

Common  action  therefore  seems  out  of  the 
question,  and  without  common  action  on  the 
part  of  foreign  powers  no  ordinances  of 
the  Chinese  could  take  effect,  because  the 
missions  belong  to  various  nationalities,  and 
none  of  them  would  respect  rules  not  sanc- 
tioned by  their  own  representatives,  while 
separate  rules  for  each  would  be  entirely  un- 
workable. 

The  Powers  may,  of  course,  cut  the  Gordian 
knot  with  the  sword,  as  has  been  done  more 
than  once ;  and  if  they,  or  even  any  one  of 
them,  would  but  consistently  apply  this  method 
the  question  might  soon  be  solved  and  set  at 
rest.  For  the  officials,  scholars,  and  people, 
once  compelled  to  respect  and  protect  Christians 
without  chance  of  evasion,  would  become  ha- 
bituated to  the  forms  of  toleration,  and  might 
in  time  learn  to  practise  voluntarily  what  they 
had  been  trained  to  do  by  force.  But  enforced 
toleration  —  almost  a  contradiction  in  terms  — 
to  be  effective  would  admit  of  no  exceptions 
and  no  wavering.  Conciliation  may  be  good, 
and  compulsion  may  be  good ;  but  the  oscilla- 
tion between  the  two  is  nearly  certain  to  fail, 


Mutual  Obligations*  167 

because,  for  one  thing,  the  alternating  phases 
would  be  pretty  certain  to  be  exhibited  at  the 
least  appropriate  times. 

Faihng,  then,  assistance  from  foreign  govern- 
ments or  their  representatives,  the  Chinese 
rulers  are  thrown  back  on  their  own  resources 
to  discover  a  modus  vivendi  between  their 
people  and  the  promiscuous  elements,  foreign 
and  native,  which  make  up  the  Propaganda. 
These  resources  are  inadequate  to  the  task: 
first,  because  of  the  inexperience  of  Chinese 
statesmen  and  their  non-comprehension  of  the 
character  of  Christianity;  and  secondly,  on 
account  of  their  preconceived  antipathy,  latent 
and  active  by  turns,  to  the  religion,  and  their  re- 
pugnance to  all  candid  examination  of  it.  This 
characteristic  must  paralyze,  by  tainting  with 
insincerity,  any  unaided  efforts  of  Government 
to  devise  a  basis  of  agreement  with  the  propa- 
ganda. Notwithstanding  these  disqualifica- 
tions, however,  the  Chinese  government  cannot 
escape  the  necessity  of  dealing  with  this  grave 
question,  though  its  action  in  regard  to  it 
seems,    by  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  fore- 


i68  China  and  Christianity ♦ 

doomed  to  barrenness.  For  the  evasive  policy 
of  the  government  opposed  to  the  more  con- 
sistent tactics  of  the  propaganda  must  produce 
continuous  friction,  generating  heat,  and  lead- 
ing, not  seldom,  to  explosions. 

It  would  almost  appear,  therefore,  that  the 
conflict,  like  a  biological  ferment,  must  run  its 
course  without  any  intelligent  direction  from 
the  parties  principally  concerned ;  and,  if  the 
history  of  the  invasion  of  Buddhism  may  be 
taken  as  a  precedent,  centuries  of  strife  may 
have  to  be  waded  through  before  the  struggle 
can  issue  in  settled  peace. 

But  as  in  the  most  desperate  condition  of 
any  State  there  are  still  individuals  "  who  do 
not  despair  of  the  republic,"  but  are  animated 
with  courage  even  to  resist  fate,  so  there  may 
not  be  wanting  in  China  statesmen  who,  in 
spite  of  adverse  circumstances,  will  do  their 
best  to  smooth  the  way  for  the  accommodation 
of  Christianity  in  this  country,  some  from 
motives  of  temporary  expediency,  and  some, 
perhaps,  from  an  awakening  conviction  of  the 
blessings  which  the  religion,  notwithstanding 
the  faults  of  its  propagators,  has  to  offer  them. 


Mutual  Obligations.  169 

The  light  cannot  for  ever  be  excluded,  how- 
ever resolutely  men  may  close  their  eyes 
against  it ;  and  in  time  one  and  another,  even 
of  the  Chinese  literati^  many  of  whom  are  now 
seriously  inquiring  into  its  merits,  mast  be 
able,  as  in  the  days  gone  by,  to  appreciate 
Christianity.  To  suppose  otherwise  indeed 
were  to  concede  it  to  be  the  imposture 
which  the  literati  as  a  body  now  affect  to 
regard  it. 

But  while  the  Western  governments  stand 
paralysed  by  disunion  and  conflicting  interests, 
and  the  Chinese  government  and  governing 
classes  are  floundering  in  the  dark,  there  is  an 
important  third  party,  the  propaganda  itself, 
which  being  endued  with  light  as  well  as  heat, 
ought  to  play  an  eflFective  part  in  the  solution 
of  the  religious  question  in  China.  Being 
primd  facie  responsible  for  the  existence  of  the 
trouble  the  onus  rests  peculiarly  on  the  mis- 
sions to  send  a  peaceful  issue  out  of  the  imbro- 
glio, and  to  find  some  broader  ground  to  stand 
on  than  that  of  mere  contention  for  the  utter- 
most rights  conferred  on  them  by  the  letter  of 


170  China  and  Christianity. 

the  treaties/  The  case  is  not  uncommon  in 
the  Western  hemisphere  where  laws  made  in 
advance  of  the  opinion  of  the  community  ^  can- 
not be  enforced  without  violence,  and  where 
the  beneficiaries,  realizing  this,  submit  to  the 
waiving  of  rights  which  have  been  definitively 
secured  to  them  by  statute. 

The  pretensions  of  foreign  missions  in  China 
are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  entail  upon  them  an 
exceptional  degree  of  moral  responsibility  for 
the  consequences  of  their  action ;  and  from 
which  shelter  is  not  to  be  found  within  the  four 
corners  of  any  legal  instrument  whatsoever. 
For  they  assume  authority,  without  appeal, 
over  the  minds  and  consciences  of  millions  of 
human  beings  ;  they  claim  absolute  superiority 
over  the  long  line  of  teachers  and  moralists 
who  have  preceded  them  in  China :    they  exer- 

1  "  Such  forcing,  based  on  treaty  rights,  maintained  by  much 
disagreeable  correspondence  between  foreign  consuls  and  Chinese 
high  mandarins,  has  done  a  great  deal  to  shut  up  the  hearts  of 
the  people  against  the  Gospel."  —  Dr.  Faber. 

2  "  You  cannot  have  that  steady,  firm,  consistent  administra- 
tion of  the  law  permanently  established  until  you  have  brought 
the  provisions  of  the  law  and  the  sympathies  of  the  people  into 
harmony."  —  Mr.  Gladstone  in  House  of  Commons,  August 
9th,  1892. 


Mutual  Obligations^  171 

cise,  without  reserve,  the  prerogative  of  eradi- 
cation of  all  customs,  religions,  and  worships 
which  they  disapprove,  under  a  divine  mandate 
attested  by  themselves.  From  such  an  order 
of  men  it  were  surely  not  unreasonable  to  look 
for  some  with  capacity  to  manage  this  perplex- 
ing question  without  constant  explosions  and 
appeals  to  brute  force.  Force  implies  failure 
in  almost  all  the  circumstances  of  life  where 
resort  to  it  is  necessary ;  and  the  Christian 
mission  bodies  owe  it  to  their  own  cause  and 
character  to  show  that  they  are  at  least  not  ob- 
livious of  the  high  qualities  which  their  self- 
assumed  position  requires  of  them. 

Christian  societies  in  sending  out  missionaries 
do  not  thereby  discharge,  but  incur,  obligations 
of  the  gravest  character.  The  evangelization 
of  China  is  not  the  simple  numerical  problem 
it  is  often  assumed  to  be,  and  long  lists  of 
missionaries  and  columns  of  subscriptions  are 
of  themselves  no  true  cause  for  gratulation. 
If  the  parent  bodies  weighed  their  own  respon- 
sibilities conscientiously  they  would  rank  the 
quality  of  mere  fervour  somewhat  low,  and 
would    choose    their    agents    rather    for    their 


172  China  and  Christianity. 

liberality  of  education  and  temperament,  their 
catholic  human  sympathies,  their  common  sense, 
their  aptitude  to  learn  from  observation  and 
experience,  and  their  freedom  from  dogmatic 
assurance.  The  office  of  missionary  to  a  people 
like  the  Chinese  demands  exceptional  gifts,  and 
the  ranks  cannot  be  filled  from  the  waifs  and 
strays  of  religious  life  without  endangering  the 
whole  enterprise.  One  man  of  the  right  stamp 
is  worth  a  thousand  impatient  zealots,  who 
accomplish  no  permanent  good  themselves,  and 
by  their  indiscretions  destroy  the  influence  of 
those  who  work  on  a  sounder  basis. 

Happily  this  sense  of  responsibility  seems 
to  be  spreading  in  missionary  circles.  There 
have  been,  and  are,  serious  men  in  the  various 
missions  who  cannot  shut  their  eyes  to  the 
light  of  the  world,  and  there  are  some  who, 
especially  in  their  declining  years,  question 
themselves  deeply  concerning  the  manner  and 
results  of  their  life's  labours,  and  cast  about 
earnestly  for  some  more  excellent  way,  if  by 
any  means  discoverable.  Such  an  one,  it  may 
now  be  said  without  impropriety,  was  the  late 
Dr.  Williamson  who    sunk   to   rest  only  two 


Mutual  Obligations*  173 

years  ago.  And  there  is  probably  an  increas- 
ing number  who  instinctively  look  first  for 
faults  on  their  own  side,  whose  feelings  towards 
the  shortcomings  of  the  Chinese  are  something 
more  humane  than  pity  and  more  Christian 
than  contempt.  Since  the  foregoing  pages 
were  written  there  has  appeared  an  essay  by  a 
worthy  follower  of  Dr.  Williamson,  the  Rev. 
G.  Candhn,  reprinted  in  Chinese  Recorder  for 
March,  1892,  in  which  the  tactics  of  provoca- 
tion and  mere  destructive  attack  on  native  be- 
liefs and  institutions  is  shown  to  be  by  no 
means  the  most  effective  way  of  transforming 
them.  The  welcome  of  such  a  candid  deliver- 
ance by  the  editors  of  a  mission  organ  proves 
that  the  reasonable  school  is  gaining  courage, 
and  seems  like  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day. 
From  the  extension  of  such  a  school  there  would 
be  much  to  hope,  both  for  the  progress  of 
Christianity  itself,  and  also  for  its  peaceful  con- 
tact with  the  official  and  lettered  classes.^ 

The  whole  history  of  missions  testifies  that 
there    is    no   personal  sacrifice  or  bodily   risk 

1  See  also  a  courageous  and   straightforward   paper  by  the 
Rev.  J.  Ross,  of  Moukden,  in  Chinese  Recorder^  August,  1892. 


174  China  and  Christianity^ 

which  Christian  teachers  would  not  incur  for 
the  sake  of  the  propagation  of  their  faith.  In 
order  to  free  their  cause  from  its  political  asso- 
ciations many  would  willingly  forego  the  pro- 
tection of  their  own  governments  ;  some  would 
go  further,  and  divesting  themselves  of  their 
birthright,  would  cheerfully  accept  the  full  con- 
ditions of  Chinese  nationality.  Such  ideas  of 
course  can  never  be  more  than  pious  aspira- 
tions, for  the  protection  extended  by  civilized 
states  to  their  citizens,  being  based  on  the 
interest  of  the  whole  community,  cannot  be 
switched  on  and  off,  like  an  electric  light,  by 
individual  caprice.  Still  less  is  it  within  the 
competence  of  any  one  to  exempt  himself  by  a 
private  resolution  from  the  obligations  inherent 
in  his  nationality.  As  his  government  w^ould 
remain  responsible  for  him  he  would  still  be 
answerable  to  his  government.  And  were 
even  the  detachment  from  country  and  kin- 
dred legally  effected  the  missionary  would  still 
not  have  attained  his  object,  for  no  metempsy- 
chosis could  undo  his  origin  and  lineage.  He 
would  remain  essentially  the  alien,  though 
stripped  of  the  privileges  and  abjuring  the  pre- 


Mutual  Obligations*  175 

tensions  appertaining  to  an  extra-territorialized 
foreigner.  And  ten-to-one  but  the  Chinese 
would  see  in  his  renunciation  only  a  more  un- 
fathomable depth  of  cunning. 

But  if  wiUing  to  do  the  "great  thing** 
which  is  not  required  of  them,  the  mission 
leaders  should  also  be,  as  no  doubt  they  are, 
ready  to  promote  less  heroic  measures  for  the 
improvement  of  the  situation.  Were  it  pos- 
sible to  bring  the  parties  together  on  some 
neutral  platform  where  a  dispassionate  inter- 
change of  views  might  take  place  between 
moderate  and  reasonable  men  selected  from 
both  sides,  such  a  conference  would  not  per- 
haps be  wholly  barren  of  result.  Assuming 
that  there  is  no  radical  incapacity  on  either  side 
for  appreciating  the  position  of  the  other,  and 
presuming  peace  to  be  the  common  object,  an 
earnest  effort  to  secure  it,  even  if  but  partially 
successful  in  its  specific  aim,  could  hardly  fail 
to  achieve  something  in  the  direction  of  a 
mutual  understanding.  And  any  rapproche- 
ment which  would  admit  of  the  Christian  pro- 
paganda being  carried  on  with  fewer  of  those 
violent  concussions  which  have  hitherto  marked 


176  China  and  Christianity* 

its  advance  would  be  an  object  well  worthy  of 
such  efforts. 

The  obstacles  in  the  way  of  organizing  any 
kind  of  deliberative  concourse  are  formidable 
and  obvious.  For  the  Chinese  it  would  be  a 
revolutionary  innovation  on  their  traditional 
methods  of  procedure ;  and  for  a  mixed  body 
composed  of  numerous  independent  members 
like  the  foreign  Missions  it  would  not  be  a 
very  simple  matter  to  concentrate  effective 
authority  on  any  selected  representatives. 
The  difficulty  of  arriving  at  such  an  under- 
standing is  naturally  greatly  diminished  in  the 
case  of  the  Catholic  section  of  the  propaganda, 
where  the  representative  apparatus  already  ex- 
ists in  a  highly  organized  form.  Other  hope 
failing,  therefore,  it  seems  to  be  after  all  to  the 
Vatican  and  its  disciplined  agents  that  the 
Christian  world  will  have  to  look,  if  anywhere, 
for  extrication  from  its  dilemma  in  China ;  for, 
having  been  repulsed  elsewhere,  it  is  to  that 
quarter  that  the  Imperial  government  would 
naturally  address  itself,  if  the  personal  and 
national  schemes  of  foreign  diplomatists  would 
but  permit  it  so  much  liberty  of  action. 


Mutual  Obligations^  177 

To  discuss  the  terms  of  a  possible  Concor- 
dat, whether  partial  or  general,  while  as  yet  the 
steps  prehminary  to  any  agreement  whatever 
cannot  be  marked  out  would  be  altogether  pre- 
mature. Much  ground  has  to  be  gone  over, 
even  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances, 
before  the  desired  composition  of  differences 
can  be  brought  within  the  sphere  of  practical 
politics. 

Should  it  eventually  be  demonstrated  that 
reconciliation  between  the  parties  is  unattain- 
able it  would  nevertheless  be  a  real  gain  even 
to  ascertain  that  much,  so  that  the  air  might 
be  cleared  of  distracting  illusions.  The  Chris- 
tian propaganda  would  then  be  able  to  con- 
tinue the  contest  with  China  on  definite  con- 
ditions, and  China  would  know  better  what  it 
had  to  deal  with.  It  may  be  that  the  actual 
struggle  for  existence  is  as  essential  an  element 
in  the  evolution  of  religious  systems  as  it  is  in 
that  of  other  forms  of  life,  and  that  all  attempts 
to  evade  its  hard  conditions  are  but  amiable 
weaknesses  ?  Left  alone  with  its  Pagan  an- 
tagonists Christianity  would  no  doubt  in  the 
end  fight  its  way  to  victory ;  although  the  re- 


1 78  China  and  Christianity. 

markable  collapse  of  the  missions  in  High 
Asia,  after  a  fierce  conflict  sustained  for  many 
centuries  by  an  energy  which  can  never  be 
surpassed,  and  the  extinction  of  mediaeval 
Christianity  in  China  proper  by  religions  much 
inferior  to  itself,  stand  as  warnings  to  the  propa- 
ganda that  ultimate  triumph,  though  sure,  may 
have  to  be  purchased  dearly,  and  may  be  long 
deferred. 

As  for  the  Chinese  government,  its  neglect- 
ing the  opportunity  of  "  agreeing  with  its  ad- 
versary **  would  be  only  too  much  in  keeping 
with  its  general  laissez-faire  policy,  which  per- 
mits destructive  inundations,  famines,  insur- 
rections to  devastate  the  country,  without 
prevision  or  precaution  on  any  adequate  scale, 
and  which  conducts  its  external  relations  in 
such  a  negligent  manner  as  continually  to  in- 
vite territorial  aggression. 

In  conclusion,  let  not  the  inadequacy  of  the 
treatment  obscure  the  greatness  of  the  subject. 
For,  above  all  the  local  friction,  ephemeral 
disputation  and  political  veering  and  hauling ; 
above  the  shiftiness  of  some  and  the  intensity 
of  others,  above  the  fret  and  fuss  of  the  day's 


Mutual  Obligations.  179 

work,  we  really  stand  in  the  presence  of  one 
of  those  grand  cosmic  conjunctures  which  shape 
human  destinies.  It  is  one  half  of  the  world 
which  is  challenging  the  other  half;  all  Chris- 
tendom gathering  its  strength  to  subdue  all 
Paganism.  Each  of  them  is  strong  by  what 
there  is  in  it  of  truth  and  nobleness,  while  our 
judgment  is  bewildered  by  the  error  and  pre- 
judice which  cling  to  them  both ;  and  if  the 
very  term  we  are  compelled  by  the  infirmity  of 
our  language  to  employ  to  mark  their  antithesis 
seems  to  beg  the  question  as  to  their  relative 
merits,  it  is  but  a  nickname  which  may  be 
balanced  by  the  coinage  of  some  equally  dis- 
paraging term  on  the  other  side.  Both  forces 
are  majestic  in  their  wide  and  enduring  sway 
over  the  hearts  of  men,  in  their  impulse  to 
virtue,  in  sustaining  the  human  spirit  in  its 
struggle  for  light.  None  of  the  historic  con- 
flicts of  the  race,  though  carried  on  with  clamour 
and  bloodshed,  have  been  laden  with  vaster 
issues ;  for  this,  in  its  true  essence,  is  a  contest 
of  mind  against  mind.  The  whole  life  and 
growth  and  morality,  linked  together  through- 
out long  ages,  of  the  largest  human  society  the 


i8o  China  and  Christianity. 

Sun  ever  looked  upon,  actually  circulating  in 
the  blood  of  the  living  men  of  to-day,  —  this 
entity  which  we  call  China  —  is  invited,  nay, 
summoned,  to  surrender  much  that,  in  its  own 
opinion,  has  immortalized  the  nation.  View 
it  how  we  may,  and  with  all  possible  deduc- 
tions, the  grandeur  of  a  people  who  have  come 
through  the  stages  of  human  development  not 
only  intact,  but  expanding  and  unified,  who 
have  made  magnificent  attempts  to  solve  the 
mystery  of  the  Unseen,  and  who  have  dis- 
tilled out  of  their  philosophical  speculations  a 
system  of  practical  ethics  which  has  served 
them,  without  revision,  for  more  than  two 
thousand  years  —  must  command  the  homage 
of  civilized  men. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  forces  opposed  to  it 
have  also  their  history  and  their  rich  experi- 
ences. The  leaven  which  has  worked  in  the 
Western  races,  inspiring  their  greatest  achieve- 
ments and  imbuing  them  with  the  principle  of 
extension  and  advancement  works  still  with 
unabated  energy.  It  is  that  vital  principle 
which  after  many  centuries  of  effort,  has  at 
length  brought  the  forces  of  Christendom  to 


Mutual  Obligations^  i8i 

the  gates  of  the  East,  where,  with  or  without 
ceremony,  they  demand  admittance.  With  all 
reasonable  qualifications,  Christendom  is  prob- 
ably not  too  arrogant  in  claiming  for  itself  pre- 
eminence among  the  families  of  man. 

We  who  live  near  the  very  meeting  points 
of  the  two  powers  can  only  by  a  mental  effort 
dimly  conceive  the  magnitude  of  the  issues 
which  are  being  worked  out  under  our  eyes. 
Where  is  the  man  who  can  understand  the 
epoch,  blend  the  opposing  currents  into  whole- 
some and  vital  union,  guide  them  into  safe  and 
fruitful  channels ;  and  from  the  blackening  sky 
conduct  the  storm-fluid  innocuously  to  earth  ? 


APPENDIX    I. 

MEMORIAL    OF    IMPERIAL    COMMISSIONER 
KIYING,   1844. 

KiYiNG,  imperial  commissioner,  minister  of 
State,  and  governor-general  of  Kwangtung  and 
Kwangsi,  respectfully  addresses  the  throne  by 
memorial. 

On  examination  it  appears  that  the  religion 
of  the  Lord  of  Heaven  is  that  professed  by 
all  the  nations  of  the  West;  that  its  main 
object  is  to  encourage  the  good  and  suppress 
the  wicked ;  that  since  its  introduction  to 
China  during  the  Ming  dynasty  it  has  never 
been  interdicted ;  that  subsequently,  when 
Chinese,  practising  this  religion,  often  made  it 
a  covert  for  wickedness,  even  to  the  seducing 
of  wives  and  daughters,  and  to  the  deceitful 
extraction  of  the  pupils  from  the  eyes  of  the 
sick,  government  made  investigation  and  in- 
183 


184  Appendix  L 

flicted  punishment,  as  is  on  record ;  and  that 
in  the  reign  of  Kiaking  special  clauses  were 
first  laid  down  for  the  punishment  of  the 
guilty.  The  prohibition,  therefore,  was  di- 
rected against  evil-doing  under  the  covert  of 
religion,  and  not  against  the  religion  professed 
by  the  western  foreign  nations. 

Now  the  request  of  the  French  ambassador, 
Lagren6,  that  those  Chinese  who,  doing  well, 
practise  this  religion,  be  exempt  from  crimi- 
naUty,  seems  feasible.  It  is  right,  therefore, 
to  make  the  request,  and  earnestly  to  crave 
celestial  favour  to  grant  that,  henceforth,  all 
natives  and  foreigners  without  distinction, 
who  learn  and  practice  the  religion  of  the 
Lord  of  Heaven,  and  do  not  excite  trouble 
by  improper  conduct,  be  exempted  from  crim- 
inality. If  there  be  any  who  seduce  wives 
and  daughters,  or  deceitfully  take  the  pupils 
from  the  eyes  of  the  sick,  walking  in  their 
former  paths,  or  are  otherwise  guilty  of  crimi- 
nal acts,  let  them  be  dealt  with  according  to 
the  old  laws.  As  to  those  of  the  French  and 
other  foreign  nations  who  practise  the  religion, 
let  them  only  be  permitted  to  build  churches 


Appendix  L  185 

at  the  five  ports  opened  for  commercial  inter- 
course. They  must  not  presume  to  enter  the 
country  to  propagate  religion.  Should  any  act 
in  opposition,  turn  their  backs  upon  the  trea- 
ties, and  rashly  overstep  the  boundaries,  the 
local  officers  will  at  once  seize  and  deliver 
them  to  their  respective  consuls  for  restraint 
and  correction.  Capital  punishment  is  not  to 
be  rashly  inflicted,  in  order  that  the  exercise  of 
gentleness  must  be  displayed.  Thus,  perad- 
venture,  the  good  and  the  profligate  will  not 
be  blended,  while  the  equity  of  mild  laws  will 
be  exhibited. 

This  request,  that  well-doers  practising  the 
religion  may  be  exempt  from  criminality,  I 
(the  commissioner),  in  accordance  with  reason 
and  bounden  duty,  respectfully  lay  before  the 
throne,  earnestly  praying  the  august  Emperor 
graciously  to  grant  that  it  may  be  carried  into 
eff^ect.     A  respectful  memorial. 

Taukwang,  24th  year,  nth  month,  19th 
day  (December  28,  1844),  was  received  the 
vermilion  reply :  "  Let  it  be  according  to  the 
counsel  [of  Kiying]."  This  is  from  the  Em- 
peror. 


1 86  Appendix  L 


Second   Memorial  of  Kiying,  1845. 

Now  I  find  that,  in  the  first  place,  when 
the  regulations  for  free  trade  were  agreed  upon, 
there  was  an  article  allowing  the  erection  of 
churches  at  the  five  ports.  This  same  privi- 
lege was  to  extend  to  all  nations  ;  there  were 
to  be  no  distinctions.  Subsequently  the  com- 
missioner Lagrene  requested  that  the  Chinese 
who,  acting  well,  practised  this  religion,  should 
equally  be  held  blameless.  Accordingly,  I 
made  a  representation  of  the  case  to  the 
throne,  by  memorial,  and  received  the  impe- 
rial consent  thereto.  After  this,  however, 
local  magistrates  having  made  improper  seiz- 
ures, taking  and  destroying  crosses,  pictures, 
and  images,  further  deliberations  were  held, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  these  [crosses,  etc.] 
might  be  reverenced.  Originally  I  did  not 
know  that  there  were,  among  the  nations,  these 
differences  in  their  religious  practices.  Now 
with  regard  to  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of 
Heaven  —  no  matter  whether  the  crosses,  pic- 
tures,  and   images    be    reverenced    or    be    not 


Appendix  L  187 

reverenced  —  all  who,  acting  well,  practise  it, 
ought  to  be  held  blameless.  All  the  great 
western  nations  being  placed  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing, only  let  them  be  acting  well,  practise  their 
religion,  and  China  will  in  no  way  prohibit  or 
impede  their  so  doing.  Whether  their  cus- 
toms be  alike  or  unlike,  certainly  it  is  right 
and  there  should  be  no  distinction  and  no 
obstruction.  —  December  11^  1845. 

Imperial   Rescript  on  Above. 

On  a  former  occasion  Kiying  and  others  laid 
before  Us  a  memorial,  requesting  immunity 
from  punishment  for  those  who  doing  well 
profess  the  religion  of  Heaven's  Lord ;  and 
that  those  who  erect  churches,  assemble  to- 
gether for  worship,  venerate  the  cross  and  pic- 
tures and  images,  read  and  explain  sacred  books, 
be  not  prohibited  from  so  doing.  This  was 
granted.  The  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 
instructing  and  guiding  men  in  well-doing, 
differs  widely  from  the  heterodox  and  illicit 
sects ;  and  the  toleration  thereof  has  already 
been  allowed.     That  which  has  been  requested 


1 88  Appendix  L 

on  a  subsequent  occasion,  it  is  right  in  like 
manner  to  grant. 

Let  all  the  ancient  houses  throughout  the 
provinces,  which  were  built  in  the  reign  of 
Kanghi,  and  have  been  preserved  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  which,  on  personal  examination 
by  proper  authorities,  are  clearly  found  to  be 
their  bona  fide  possessions,  be  restored  to  the 
professors  of  this  religion  in  their  respective 
places,  excepting  only  those  churches  which 
have  been  converted  into  temples  and  dwelling- 
houses  for  the  people. 

If,  after  the  promulgation  of  this  decree 
throughout  the  provinces,  the  local  officers  ir- 
regularly prosecute  and  seize  any  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 
who  are  not  bandits,  upon  all  such  the  just 
penalties  of  the  law  shall  be  meted  out. 

If  any,  under  a  profession  of  this  religion, 
do  evil,  or  congregate  people  from  distant 
towns,  seducing  and  binding  them  together ;  or 
if  any  other  sect  or  bandits,  borrowing  the 
name  of  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 
create  disturbances,  transgress  the  laws,  or  ex- 
cite rebellion,  they  shall  be  punished  according 


Appendix  L  189 

to  their  respective  crimes,  each  being  dealt 
with  as  the  existing  statutes  of  the  Empire 
direct. 

Also,  in  order  to  make  apparent  the  proper 
distinctions,  foreigners  of  every  nation  are,  in 
accordance  with  existing  regulations,  prohibited 
from  going  into  the  country  to  propagate 
religion. 

For  these  purposes  this  decree  is  given. 
Cause  it  to  be  made  known.  From  the 
Emperor. 


APPENDIX    11. 
%M 

CIRCULAR   OF    THE   CHINESE   GOVERN- 
MENT,  1871. 

(communicated  by   the    FRENCH    CHARGE    D'AFFAIRES.) 

Tf'anslation. 

The  object  which  the  Powers  and  China  had 
before  them  originally  in  signing  the  treaties 
was  to  establish  a  permanent  situation  which 
should  ensure  them  reciprocal  advantages  and 
remove  abuses.  However,  the  experience  of 
the  last  few  years  has  demonstrated  that  not 
only  do  these  Treaties  not  attain  this  desired 
end  of  permanency,  but  also  that,  up  to  the 
present  time,  they  are  difficult  to  carry  into 
execution.  Trade  has  in  no  degree  occasioned 
differences  between  China  and  the  Powers. 
The  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  missions, 
which   engender   ever  increasing  abuses.     Al- 

190 


Appendix  !!♦  191 

though  in  the  first  instance  it  may  have  been 
declared  that  the  primary  object  of  the  missions 
was  to  exhort  men  to  virtue,  CathoHcism  in 
causing  vexation  to  the  people,  has  produced 
a  contrary  effect  in  China.  (This  regrettable 
result)  is  solely  attributable  to  the  inefficacy  of 
the  plan  of  action  (followed  in  this  matter). 
It  is,  therefore,  urgent  that  steps  should  be 
taken  to  remedy  this  evil,  and  to  search  for  a 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty.  In  fact, 
this  question  is  one  bearing  upon  those  which 
influence  the  leading  interests  of  the  peace  of 
nations,  as  well  those  of  their  trade,  which  are 
equally  considerable.  Wherever  the  Catholic 
missionaries  have  appeared,  they  have  drawn 
upon  themselves  the  animadversion  of  the 
people,  and  your  Excellency  is  not  ignorant 
that  cases  which  have  arisen  during  the  course 
of  several  years  embraced  points  of  disagree- 
ment of  every  kind. 

The  first  Catholic  Missionaries  who  estab- 
lished themselves  in  China  were  called  "lite- 
rates "  of  the  West.  The  greater  part  of  the 
conversions  took  place  at  that  time  among 
respectable  people.     On  the  other  hand,  since 


192  Appendix  E. 

the  conclusion  of  the  Treaties  took  place 
(i860)  the  majority  of  the  converts  are  persons 
without  virtue ;  so  that  religion,  whose  object 
is  to  exhort  men  to  virtue,  no  longer  enjoys 
any  consideration.  From  that  moment  con- 
sciences have  become  a  prey  to  uneasiness. 
The  Christians  have  none  the  less  continued, 
under  the  shadow  of  missionary  influence,  to 
mislead  and  oppress  the  people  :  thence  arose 
renewed  uneasiness,  then  quarrels  between 
Christians  and  non-Christians,  and,  at  last, 
disturbances.  The  authorities  proceed  to  in- 
vestigate the  affair;  the  missionaries  make 
common  cause  with  the  Christians,  and  sup- 
port them  in  their  insubordination  against  the 
same  authorities.  Thereupon  the  feeling  of 
disquiet  which  pervades  the  people  assumes 
greater  proportions.  Yet  more :  veteran 
rebels,  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law,  amateurs 
in  intrigue,  seek  a  refuge  in  the  Church,  and 
lean  upon  her  influence  in  order  to  commit 
disorders.  At  this  moment  the  animosity  of 
the  people,  already  deep,  degenerates  gradually 
into  a  hate  which,  at  length,  reaches  its  par- 
oxysm.    The  people    in  general,   unaware    of 


Appendix  11.  193 

the  difference  which  exists  between  Protestan- 
tism and  Catholicism,  confound  these  two 
religions  under  this  latter  denomination. 
They  do  not  grasp  the  distinction  which  should 
be  made  between  the  different  nations  of  which 
Europe  is  composed,  and  give  to  Europeans 
the  generic  name  of  "  men  from  without ;  " 
so  that,  when  troubles  break  out,  foreigners 
residing  in  China  are  all  exposed  to  the  same 
dangers.  Even  in  the  provinces  where  con- 
flicts have  not  yet  taken  place  uneasiness  and 
suspicion  will  certainly  appear  among  the 
people.  Is  not  such  a  state  of  things  of  a 
nature  to  occasion  a  lively  feeling  of  irritation, 
and,  as  a  result,  grave  disorders  ^  The  differ- 
ence which  exists  between  the  religions  and  the 
nationalities  are  truths  which  are  still  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  the  masses,  in  spite  of 
constant  efforts  which  have  been  exerted  in 
order  to  make  them  appreciate  their  nature. 
The  Prince  and  the  members  of  the  Yamen, 
during  the  ten  years  in  which  they  have  been 
at  the  head  of  affairs,  have  been  a  prey  to 
incessant  anxiety.  These  precautions  have 
been  justified   by   the    events  at  Tientsin,  the 


194  Appendix  II. 

suddenness  of  which  was  overwhelming.  The 
proceeding  against  the  functionaries  (compro- 
mised) have  been  begun,  the  murderers  have 
suffered  capital  punishment,  an  indemnity- 
has  been  paid,  and  relief  given ;  but,  al- 
though the  affair  may  to-day  be  almost 
settled,  the  Prince  and  the  members  of  the 
Yamen  cannot  throw  off  the  uneasiness  which 
they  feel.  In  fact,  if  this  policy  is  the  only 
one  on  which  one  can  rely  (to  settle)  the  differ- 
ences between  Christians  and  non-Christians, 
it  will  become  more  precarious  in  proportion 
to  the  necessity  there  will  be  to  recur  to  it 
oftener,  and  disorders  like  those  of  Tientsin  will 
be  repeated  more  terribly  each  time.  If  the 
matter  is  looked  at  under  its  present  aspect,  the 
question  is,  how  is  it  possible  to  be  on  good 
terms  and  to  live  on  either  side  in  peace  ?  It 
is  not  only  to  the  hatred  engendered  by  the 
suppressed  animosities  of  the  people,  but  de- 
cidedly also  to  the  provocations  of  the  Chris- 
tians, that  the  conflicts  on  the  missionary  ques- 
tion which  arise  in  these  provinces  must  be 
attributed.  If,  on  one  side,  these  conflicts  may 
have  been  brought  about  by  the  relative   in- 


Appendix  !!♦  195 

capacity  of  the  local  administration,  they  can 
certainly  also  be  attributed  to  the  conduct  of 
the  high  Chinese  and  European  functionaries 
charged  with  the  direction  of  affairs  (affecting 
the  two  countries),  who,  knowing  the  want  of 
conciliation  in  the  attitude  of  the  missionaries 
and  Christians,  show  no  good  will  in  seeking 
for  the  means  of  remedying  the  evil. 

With  regard  to  the  Europeans,  they  only 
aim  at  getting  rid  of  the  difficulties  of  the  mo- 
ment, without  troubling  themselves  whether 
by  so  doing  consciences  are  disturbed ;  to  em- 
ploy coercion  is  all  that  is  thought  of  On  the 
other  hand,  the  local  authorities  have  only  one 
object,  that  of  bringing  the  matter  to  a  close. 
Care  for  the  future  goes  for  nothing  in  this 
short-sighted  policy.  But  if  we  seek,  in  con- 
cert with  the  Europeans,  to  secure  by  effica- 
cious means  a  really  lasting  understanding,  we 
do  not  find  among  these  latter  the  desire  to 
found  the  discussion  on  equitable  bases. 
When  this  discussion  arises,  they  place  before 
us  unacceptable  means  which  they  wish  to  im- 
pose on  us  by  force,  in  order  to  be  able  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  matter.     That  is,  in  truth,  not  the 


196  Appendix  11. 

good  and  true  way  to  take  care  of  the  interests 
of  the  two  countries.  Anxious  about  the  whole 
matter,  and  sincerely  desirous  that  concord  and 
peace  should  reign  forever  between  China  and 
Europe,  the  Prince  and  the  members  of  the 
Yamen  are  bound  to  seek  the  best  means  to 
secure  this  result.  Their  belief  is,  that  there 
are  ecclesiastics  everywhere  in  Europe,  and  that 
their  presence  abroad  is  therefore  without  dan- 
ger to  good  harmony.  The  maintenance  of 
this  happy  state  of  things  is,  doubtless,  due  to 
the  employment  of  certain  means,  and  to  the 
fact  that  ecclesiastics  and  Christians  abstain 
from  provoking  conflicts.  The  Prince  and 
members  of  the  Yamen  have  heard  that  these 
same  ecclesiastics,  to  whatever  nationality  they 
might  belong,  respected  the  law  and  customs 
of  the  country  where  they  dwelt ;  that  they 
were  not  allowed  to  constitute  in  them  a  kind 
of  exceptional  independence  for  themselves ; 
and  that  the  faults  of  every  kind,  such  as  con- 
traventions of  the  law,  insubordination  towards 
the  authority  of  functionaries,  abuses  and  usur- 
pations of  powers,  acts  prejudicial  to  the  repu- 
tation of  the  people,    and  oppressive  towards 


Appendix  !!♦  197 

the  people,  which  provoke  its  suspicions  and 
its  resentment,  are  there  severely  repressed.  If 
the  missionaries,  before  constructing  the  reli- 
gious establishments  in  China  and  preaching 
their  doctrine  there,  avoided  making  themselves 
odious  to  the  principal  men  and  people,  the 
suspicions  would  disappear,  to  give  place  to  a 
mutual  confidence;  concord  would  be  perma- 
nent ;  one  would  not  see  churches  destroyed, 
and  religions  attacked.  If  these  same  mission- 
aries, in  pursuit  of  their  work,  could  inspire  in 
the  masses  the  conviction  that  their  acts  are 
not  opposed  to  their  teaching ;  if,  remaining 
deaf  to  the  instigations  of  the  Christians,  they 
avoided  by  denying  themselves  all  interference 
in  the  local  administration,  giving  the  support 
of  their  influence  to  arbitrary  and  oppressive 
acts  which  engender  hatred  among  the  notables 
and  the  people,  they  might  live  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  the  people,  and  the  functionaries 
would  be  in  a  position  to  protect  them.  Far 
different  is  the  conduct  of  the  persons  who 
now  come  to  China  to  propagate  therein  the 
Christian  religion.  From  the  information 
which  the  Prince  and  the  Yamen  have  gathered 


198  Appendix  !!♦ 

(respecting  the  duties  imposed  on  them  by 
their  priesthood),  these  persons  found  as  it 
were  among  us  an  undetermined  number  of 
States  within  the  State.  How,  under  these 
conditions,  can  we  hope  that  a  durable  under- 
standing should  be  established,  and  to  prevent 
the  governors  and  the  governed  uniting  against 
them  in  common  hostility? 

The  Prince  and  the  members  of  the  Yamen 
are  impressed  with  a  desire  to  ward  off  from 
henceforth  eventualities  so  menacing.  In  fact, 
they  fear  in  all  sincerity  lest,  after  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Tientsin  affair,  the  animosity  of 
the  ignorant  Christians  of  the  Empire  should 
take  a  more  decided  tone  of  insolent  bluster, 
that  the  bitterness  of  the  popular  resentment 
should  increase,  and  that  so  much  accumulated 
bad  feeling,  causing  a  sudden  explosion,  should 
bring  about  a  catastrophe.  It  would  then  be 
no  longer  possible  for  the  local  authorities,  nor 
for  the  high  provincial  functionaries,  nor  even 
for  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  to  assert  their  author- 
ity. In -the  event  of  a  general  rising  in  China, 
the  Emperor  will  be  able  to  appoint  high  dig- 
nitaries to  order  them  to  assemble  everywhere 


Appendix  !!•  i99 

Imposing  forces ;  but  the  greatest  rigour  does 
not  reach  the  masses,  and  where  their  anger 
manifests  itself,  there  are  persons  who  refuse  to 
yield  their   heads   to  the   executioner.     Then, 
when  the  evil  becomes  irremediable,  and  when 
the  wish  we  all  have  to  preserve  so  great  inter- 
ests will  no   longer  be  effectual,  the  men  who 
direct  the  international  affairs  of  China  and  of 
Europe  will  not  be  suffered  to  decline  the  re- 
sponsibility which  falls   on  them.      In   short, 
in  the  direction  of  affairs,  the  important  point 
in  China  as  in   Europe,  is  to  satisfy  opinion. 
If  failing  in  this  duty,  oppression  and  violence 
are  employed,  a  general  rising  will  at  last  take 
place.     There  are  moments  when  the  supreme 
authority  is  disregarded.     If  the  high  function- 
aries of  China  and  the   Europeans   on  whom 
rests  the  responsibility  of  the  affairs  which  now 
form  the  object  of  our  anxiety,  remaining  un- 
moved spectators  of  a  situation  which  threatens 
the  greatest  danger  to  the  Chinese  people,  as 
well  as  to  strangers,  traders    and  individuals,, 
make  no   effort  to  find  a  solution  which  may 
effectually  remedy  the  evil,  it  will  follow  that 
it  will  be  out  of  their  power  to  deal  in  a  satis- 


200  Appendix  U, 

factory  manner  with  the  matters  which  interest 
the  pubUc.  Consequently  with  the  view  of 
protecting  the  great  interests  of  general  peace, 
and  of  remedying  the  abuses  above  pointed 
out,  the  Prince  and  the  Members  of  the  Yamen 
have  the  honor  to  submit  for  your  Excellency's 
examination,  a  plan  of  Regulation  in  eight  Ar- 
ticles, which  has  also  been  communicated  to 
the  Representatives  of  other  Powers. 

Draft  of  Regulations. 

article   i. 

The  Christians  when  they  found  an  Orphan- 
age give  no  notice  to  the  authorities,  and  appear 
to  act  with  mystery  :  hence  the  suspicions  and 
hatred  of  the  people.  In  ceasing  to  receive 
children,  the  evil  rumours  which  are  now  in  cir- 
culation would  at  the  same  time  disappear. 
If,  however,  there  is  a  wish  to  continue  this 
work,  only  the  children  of  necessitous  Chris- 
tians must  be  received,  and  then  the  authorities 
ought  to  be  informed,  who  would  note  the  day 
on  which  the  child  entered,  the  name  of  its 
parents,  and  the  day  on  which  it  left.     It  would 


Appendix  II*  201 

also  be  necessary  that  power  should  be  given 
to  strangers  to  adopt  these  children,  and  then 
a  good  result  would  be  arrived  at.  Lastly, 
when  it  is  a  question  of  non-Christian  children, 
the  high  officials  ought  to  give  orders  to  the 
local  authorities,  who  should  select  proper 
agents  who  could  take  all  the  measures  which 
appeared  suitable  to  them. 

In  China  the  laws  which  regulate  orphanages 
are  :  that  on  the  entrance  and  on  the  departure 
of  the  children  note  is  made  of  the  person  who 
leaves  them,  or  of  the  person  who  adopts  them, 
of  the  declaration  made  to  the  authorities,  and 
of  the  permission  given  to  the  parents  to  visit 
their  children.  When  they  have  become  bigger, 
they  may  be  adopted  by  someone  having  no 
children,  or  taken  back  by  the  parents  them- 
selves, and  then  no  matter  in  what  religion  they 
have  been  brought  up,  they  return  to  the  reli- 
gions of  their  fathers.  The  child  ought  in 
everything  also  to  be  treated  well.  In  exercis- 
ing this  work  of  charity,  it  becomes  a  most 
worthy  work. 

We  have  heard  it  said  that  in  every  country 
matters    are    conducted    in    this    respect    very 


202  Appendix  II» 

nearly  as  in  China.  How  does  it  happen  that, 
once  arrived  in  our  country,  foreigners  no  longer 
follow  these  customs  ?  They  take  no  note  of 
the  family  to  which  the  child  belongs,  and  they 
do  not  give  notice  to  the  authorities.  Once 
the  child  has  entered  the  house  other  persons 
are  not  allowed  to  adopt  it,  nor  are  the  parents 
permitted  to  take  it  back  again,  nor  even  to 
visit  it.  All  this  nourishes  suspicions  and  ex- 
cites the  hatred  of  the  people,  and  by  degrees 
a  case  like  that  of  Tientsin  is  arrived  at.  Al- 
though we  have  denied  in  a  report  all  those 
rumours  of  the  tearing  out  of  eyes  and  hearts, 
the  people,  however,  still  preserve  doubts  on 
the  subject,  and  even  if  we  succeed  In  closing 
their  lips  we  cannot  drive  away  these  doubts 
from  their  minds.  It  is  this  kind  of  uneasiness 
which  gives  rise  to  terrible  events.  It  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  abolish  the  foreign  orphan- 
ages, and  to  transport  them  to  Europe,  where 
they  could  practise  their  charity  at  their  ease : 
it  would  then  belong  to  the  Chinese  to  come 
to  the  aid  of  these  children.  Besides,  in  every 
province  we  have  numerous  orphanages,  and 
yet  the  foreigners  wish  to  lend  us  at  any  price 


Appendix  11.  203 

an  assistance  of  which  we  have  not  the  slightest 
need.  It  is  certainly  with  good  intentions  they 
thus  act,  but  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  their 
conduct  produces  suspicion  and  excites  anger. 
It  would  be  far  preferable  if  each  one  exercised 
his  charity  in  his  own  country,  and  then  no 
lamentable  event  could  arise. 

ARTICLE    2. 

Women  ought  no  longer  to  enter  the 
churches,  nor  should  sisters  of  charity  live  in 
China  to  teach  religion.  This  measure  will 
only  render  the  Christians  more  respectable, 
and  will  result  in  silencing  evil  rumours. 

In  China  good  reputation  and  modesty  are 
most  important  matters  :  men  and  women  are 
not  even  allowed  to  shake  hands,  nor  to  live 
together :  there  ought  to  be  a  kind  of  line  of 
separation  that  cannot  be  overstepped.  After 
the  treaty  full  liberty  was  given  to  the  Chris- 
tians, and  then  men  and  women  went  together 
to  church  :  hence  rumours  among  the  pubhc. 
There  are  some  places  even  where  men  and 
women  are  together  not  only  at  church  but  also 
in  the  interior  of  the  house.     The  public  look- 


204  Appendix  !!♦ 

ing  at  this  in  a  light  manner  harbours  suspicions, 
and  thinks  that  things  contrary  to  propriety 
take  place. 

ARTICLE    3. 

The  missionaries  residing  in  China  must 
conform  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  China. 
They  are  not  permitted  to  place  themselves  in 
a  kind  of  exceptional  independence,  to  show 
themselves  recalcitrant  to  the  authority  of  the 
Government  and  of  the  officials,  to  attribute 
to  themselves  powers  which  do  not  belong  to 
them,  to  injure  the  reputation  of  men,  to 
oppress  the  people,  to  asperse  the  doctrine  of 
Confucius,  by  which  they  give  ground  for  the 
suspicions,  the  resentments  and  the  indignation 
of  the  masses.  The  missionaries  must  submit 
themselves,  like  everybody,  to  the  authority 
of  the  local  officials  ;  and  the  Christian  Chinese 
must,  in  every  case,  be  treated  according  to 
the  common  law ;  with  the  exception  of  the 
expenses  of  theatrical  solemnities  and  of  the 
worship  of  local  protecting  divinities  from 
which  they  are  dispensed  from  contributing  to, 
the    Christians  cannot  escape   the   requisitions 


Appendix  H*  205 

and  forced  labour,  and  are  constrained  to 
accept,  like  everybody  else,  the  charges  im- 
posed by  the  local  administration.  With 
stronger  reason  they  cannot  refuse  to  pay,  in 
their  integrity,  the  land  taxes  and  the  rents, 
nor  can  the  missionaries  advise  them  and  sup- 
port them  in  infringing  the  common  law. 
Cases  for  litigation  between  Christians  and 
non-Christians  are  under  the  equitable  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  authorities,  and  cannot  be  left  to 
the  patronage  of  the  missionaries.  The  latter 
cannot  keep  away  from  the  courts.  Christians, 
prosecutors  or  defendants,  which,  in  a  trial, 
leads  to  delays  and  prejudices  the  parties  in- 
terested. In  the  cases  in  which  missionaries 
allow  themselves  to  be  mixed  up  in  affairs 
beyond  their  province,  the  local  authorities 
ought  to  send  their  verbal  or  written  communi- 
cations to  the  high  provincial  functionaries, 
who  will  refer  them  in  their  turn  to  the  Tsung- 
li  Yamen,  in  order  that  a  decision  may  be 
eventually  taken  as  to  the  repatriation  of  these 
same  missionaries.  In  the  cases  where  Chris- 
tians in  suits  respecting  matrimonial  alliances 
or  property  in  land  plume  themselves  on  their 


2o6  Appendix  H. 

position  of  Christians  to  invoke  the  interven- 
tion of  the  missionaries,  they  will  be  severely 
punished  by  the  authorities. 

China  honours  the  religion  of  Confucius ; 
that  of  Buddha  and  of  Tao,  as  well  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  Lamas  is  also  professed  there. 
Therefore  it  is  contrary  to  usage  that  the  latter, 
although  they  may  not  be  Chinese,  should 
ignore  the  decisions  of  the  Chinese  authorities, 
by  approving  or  blaming  them.  We  hear  it 
said  that  the  missionaries  in  foreign  countries 
are  subject  to  the  legislation  of  the  country  in 
which  they  live,  and  that  they  are  forbidden  to 
make  themselves  independent,  to  contravene 
the  law,  to  usurp  authority,  to  attack  the 
character  of  people,  or  to  prejudice  them,  or 
to  arouse  the  suspicion  and  resentment  of  the 
people.  Similarly  the  missionaries,  who  teach 
their  religion  in  China,  ought  to  submit  them- 
selves to  the  authority  of  the  magistrates  of 
this  country ;  nevertheless  they  are  vauntingly 
independent  and  do  not  recognise  the  authority 
of  the  officials.  Do  they  not  thus  place  them- 
selves without  the  pale  of  the  law  ?  The 
Christians  in  China   remain  Chinese  subjects. 


Appendix  H*  207 

and  are  only  the  more  constrained  to  remain 
faithful  to  their  duties.  In  no  case  can  indiffer- 
ence be  estabHshed  between  them  and  the  rest 
of  the  nation.  The  Christians  in  the  towns 
and  in  the  country  ought  to  Hve  in  good 
harmony  with  their  fellow  countrymen.  Yet, 
in  matters  affecting  the  public  when  popular 
subscriptions  are  opened  or  forced  labour  re- 
quired, they  put  forward  their  position  as 
Christians  to  escape  these  burdens.  They 
themselves  create  an  exception  (in  their  favour). 
How  avoid  that  the  rest  of  the  nation  accept 
this  exception  (against  them)  ?  Yet  more, 
they  refuse  the  taxes  and  forced  labour,  they 
intimidate  the  officials,  they  oppress  those  who 
do  not  belong  to  their  religion.  The  foreign 
missionaries  do  not  fully  understand  the  situa- 
tion :  not  only  do  they  give  an  asylum  to 
Christians  who  are  guilty  of  crimes  and  refuse 
to  deliver  them  up  to  justice,  but  they  also 
consent  to  protect  unjustly  those  who  have 
only  become  converts  because  they  have  com- 
mitted some  crime.  In  the  provinces  the 
Missionaries  make  themselves  the  advocates  be- 
fore the  local  authorities  of  the  Christians  who 


2o8  Appendix  !!• 

have  suits.  Witness  that  Christian  woman  of 
Sze-chuen  who  exacted  from  her  tenants  pay- 
ments of  a  nature  which  were  not  due  to  her, 
and  ultimately  committed  a  murder.  A  French 
bishop  took  upon  himself  to  address  a  despatch 
to  the  authorities  in  order  to  plead  for  this 
woman  and  procured  her  acquittal.  This  deed 
aroused  animosities  among  the  people  of  Sze- 
chuen  which  have  lasted  to  this  day.  In 
Kwei-chow,  Christians  who  go  to  law  style 
themselves  Christians  in  the  charge  sheet 
("  acte  d'accusation  ")  with  the  sole  view  of 
gaining  their  cause.  This  is  a  well-known 
abuse.  It  happens  also  that  two  families  being 
united  by  matrimonial  ties,  one  is  converted 
to  Christianity,  then  compels  the  other  who  is 
not  converted  to  break  off  the  alliance. 
Among  people  of  the  same  blood  one  has 
seen  fathers  and  older  brothers,  after  having 
been  converted  lay  an  accusation  for  non-ful- 
filment of  family  duties  against  their  children 
and  younger  brothers,  for  the  sole  reason  that 
these  latter  had  refused  to  be  converted.  These 
acts  are  encouraged  by  the  missionaries.  Are 
not  such  practices  of  a  nature  to  excite  to  the 
highest  degree  the  popular  indignation  ? 


Appendix  !!♦  209 

ARTICLE    4. 

Chinese  and  foreigners  living  together  ought 
to  be  governed  by  the  same  laws.  For  example, 
if  a  man  kills  another,  he  ought  to  be  punished, 
if  a  Chinaman,  according  to  the  Chinese  law  ; 
if  he  is  a  foreigner,  according  to  the  law  of  his 
country.  In  thus  acting,  order  will  reign ;  it 
matters  little  the  manner  in  which  the  Chinese 
or  foreigners  treat  the  case ;  a  punishment  is 
all  that  is  necessary.  But  that  punishment 
once  inflicted,  they  must  not  come  and  claim 
indemnities,  and  abov«  all  they  must  not  seek 
the  soi-disant  abettor  of  the  crime  to  exact 
from  him  a  certain  sum.  It  belongs  to  the 
local  authorities  to  adjudicate  on  the  differences 
which  may  arise  between  the  Christians  and 
the  people.  If  it  is  a  Pagan  who  has  com- 
mitted wrongs  against  a  Christian,  he  ought  to 
be  punished  more  or  less  severely,  according 
to  the  gravity  of  the  fault ;  similarly  if  it  is  a 
question  of  a  Christian  accused  by  a  Pagan. 
The  official  ought  to  adjudicate  with  the  most 
perfect  justice,  and  the  greatest  impartiality. 
If  a   Christian  conducts    himself  altogether 


2IO  Appendix  !!♦ 

contrary  to  the  laws,  the  local  authority  takes 
evidence ;  and  if  some  one  accuses  this  Chris- 
tian, the  latter  is  seized  and  judged.  But  the 
missionaries  must  not  then  come  forward  to 
defend  him,  and  to  exculpate  him.  If  the 
case  arises  of  a  missionary  preventing  a  Chris- 
tian giving  himself  up  to  the  commands  of  the 
authority,  the  Christian  alone  ought  not  to  be 
punished,  but  also  the  missionary,  or  at  least 
he  ought  to  be  sent  back  to  his  own  country. 

In  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  T'ung  Chih, 
a  missionary,  M.  Mabileau,  was  killed  in  Sze- 
chuen.  The  murderer,  named  Yang  Lao-wu, 
was  arrested  and  condemned  to  death.  But 
besides  that,  Mr.  Mihieres  accused  a  man  who 
formed  part  of  the  class  of  literates  of  having 
been  the  instigator  of  that  murder,  in  order  to 
exact  from  him  an  indemnity  of  80,000  taels. 

The  individuals  who  commit  disorders  ordi- 
narily belong  to  the  lowest  classes  of  the 
people.  -When  they  are  guilty  of  some  crime, 
they  are  seized  and  punished ;  but  accusations 
ought  not  to  be  brought  against  the  literates 
to  exact  from  them  large  indemnities.  Such 
conduct  excites  hatred. 


Appendix  !!♦  211 

In  the  eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  T^ung 
Chih,  a  missionary,  Mr.  Rigaud,  was  killed  in 
Sze-chuen  ;  the  cause  of  the  murder  was  an 
alliance  between  two  families,  which  fell  through. 
The  Tartar  General  Ch'^ung  and  the  Governor 
General  Li  judged  this  case.  They  caused  the 
murderer  of  Mr.  Rigaud  to  be  arrested,  a  man 
named  Ho-tsai,  and  the  murderer  of  a  Chris- 
tian named  Liang-fu,  both  belonging  to  the 
lowest  class.  One  was  condemned  to  have  his 
head  cut  off,  the  other  to  be  hanged.  The 
Christians  further  killed  some  of  the  people ; 
every  year  there  were  conflicts  between  credi- 
tors and  debtors,  rapes  ana  fires. 

The  instigators  of  all  this  were  Wang  Hsiao- 
ting,  Ch'^ang  Tien-hsing,  and  others.  It  was 
desired  to  seize  and  punish  them,  but  they  did 
not  surrender  themselves  to  the  commands  of 
the  authority.  Further,  the  Christians  again, 
under  the  leadership  of  a  priest  named  Tan 
Fu-ch'en,  killed  Chao  Yung-lin,  and  200  other 
persons.  The  surrender  of  this  missionary  was 
demanded  ;  but  the  Abbe  Mihi^res  said  that 
he  had  left  for  Europe ;  and  that  there  was  no 
means  of  arranging  this  case.  Hence  great 
anger  among  the  inhabitants  of  Sze-chuen. 


212  Appendix  11* 


ARTICLE 


The  passports  given  to  the  (French)  mis- 
sionaries who  penetrate  into  the  interior  ought 
clearly  to  bear  mention  of  the  province  and  of 
the  prefecture  where  they  intend  to  repair. 
The  names  and  titles  of  the  bearer,  and  these 
conditions,  that  he  will  not  be  able  clandestinely 
to  betake  himself  to  another  province  and  that 
the  passport  is  personal,  will  be  equally  com- 
prised in  this  document.  The  missionary 
ought  not  to  pass  through  the  Custom  House 
and  toll-bar  contraband  articles  of  merchan- 
dize which  are  liable  to  duty.  On  his  arrival 
at  a  destination  other  than  that  designated  in 
the  passport,  or  if  this  document  has  been 
handed  over  to  a  Christian  Chinaman  with  the 
object  of  making  him  pass  himself  off  as  a  mis- 
sionary, the  said  passport  shall  be  cancelled. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  it  be  ascertained  that  the 
bearer  has  gained  possession  of  it  by  pecuniary 
payment,  or  that  he  has  committed  some  other 
serious  breach  of  the  law,  the  individual  who 
shall  have  thus  falsely  assumed  the  position  of 
a   missionary  shall   be  punished,  and  the  real 


Appendix  H*  213 

missionary  shall  be  sent  back  to  his  own 
country.  In  order  that  the  control  may  be 
exercised  everywhere,  the  name  of  the  mis- 
sionary shall  be  inserted  in  the  passport,  in 
Chinese  characters,  which  will  be  taken  as 
proof.  The  passport  shall  be  cancelled  in 
cases  where  the  titulary  should  have  gone  back 
to  his  own  country,  should  have  died,  or 
should  have  abandoned  missionary  work. 
Passports  will  not  be  granted  in  the  provinces 
where  there  are  rebels,  nor  even  hereafter  for 
those  where  the  Imperial  army  is  operating,  — 
with  the  evident  object  of  securing  loyally  the 
safeguard  of  the  missionaries. 

In  support  of  the  above  scheme  the  Yamen 
will  recall  a  missionary  case  which  occurred  in 
Kwei-chow  where  a  certain  Chao  acted  as  mis- 
sionary, albeit  his  name  had  no  place  in  the 
passport  register.  The  Yamen  received  a 
letter  on  this  subject  from  Mr.  Interpreter 
Deveria,  in  which  the  latter  showed  how,  ac- 
cording to  an  old  French  register,  the  mur- 
dered missionary  Chao  had  received  a  pass- 
port, dated  the  2nd  day  of  the  6th  month  of 
the  4th  year  of  T'ung-chih,  in  which  he  was 


214  Appendix  11. 

called  Jui-Lo-ssij ;  that  his  name  of  Chao  was 
erroneous ;  that  the  victim  was  really  the  said 
Jui-Lo-ssu ;  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  same 
Jui-Lo-ssii  was  inserted  under  number  325  as 
going  to  Sze-chuen  and  thence  to  Kwei-chow. 
However,  the  Yamen  was  able  to  convince  it- 
self that  neither  this  name  of  Chao  nor  that  of 
Jui-Lo-ssu  figured  on  its  passport  register. 
There  was,  therefore,  a  double  mistake  in  the 
name  of  the  missionary  and  in  that  of  his  resi- 
dence. How,  then,  could  one  establish  an 
identity  and  secure  to  the  party  interested 
efficacious  protection  ? 

There  was  also  an  affair  of  murder  com- 
mitted by  the  missionary  Splingaert  on  the 
person  of  a  Russian.  This  Splingaert  was  first 
of  all  a  missionary,  then  entered  the  Prussian 
Legation  as  constable.  He  none  the  less  re- 
tained his  passport,  so  that  he  handed  it  over 
to  some  one  else,  or  lost  it,  so  that  not  only 
an  abuse,  in  passing  as  a  missionary,  occurred, 
but  grave  inconveniences  to  public  affairs  might 
have  arisen  in  case  the  said  passport  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  rebels.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  dignity  of  missionaries  seems  to  us  to  be 
seriously  injured  by  such  irregularities. 


Appendix  !!♦  215 

ARTICLE     6. 

The  aim  of  the  missionaries  being  to  exhort 
men  to  virtue,  it  is  befitting  that  before  admit- 
ting an  individual  to  the  privileges  of  religion, 
he  should  be  examined  as  to  whether  he  has 
undergone  any  sentence  or  committed  any 
crime.  If  this  examination  be  in  his  favour 
he  may  become  a  Christian  ;  if  the  contrary  he 
should  not  be  allowed  to  become  one.  One 
ought,  moreover,  to  act  as  the  ministers  of  our 
religion  do,  who  give  notice  to  the  inspectors 
of  ten  families,  and  cause  the  name  of  the  per- 
son to  be  entered  in  the  register  with  this  pur- 
pose. In  the  same  way  the  missionaries  ought 
to  give  notice  to  the  authorities,  who  will  take 
note  of  the  day  of  the  month  and  of  the  year 
of  admittance,  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
station  in  life  of  the  individual,  and  will  ascer- 
tain if  he  has  ever  undergone  any  sentence,  or 
if  he  has  ever  changed  his  name.  By  acting 
thus  all  confusion  will  be  avoided.  If  a  Chris- 
tian should  be  sent  on  a  mission,  and  he  should 
die  on  the  way,  notice  should  be  given  to  the 
proper  authority.     If,  after  being  converted,  a 


21 6  Appendix  !!♦ 

person  commits  some  crime,  he  should  be  dis- 
missed, and  no  longer  regarded  as  belonging  to 
the  religion.  Every  month,  or  at  least  every 
three  months,  the  authorities  ought  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  number  of  conversions.  The 
authorities  also  should  act  as  they  do  in  regard 
to  our  temples,  that  is  to  say,  they  should  go 
every  month,  or  at  least  every  three  months, 
to  inspect  the  missions.  This  course  will  do 
no  harm  to  religion,  but,  on  the  contrary,  will 
ensure  tranquillity. 

In  the  ninth  year  of  the  reign  of  T'ung  Chih, 
the  Government  of  Kwei-chow  gave  notice  to 
the  Yamen  that  at  Kwei-'ting-hsien  some  peo- 
ple, who  were  formerly  nothing  better  than 
thieves,  were  forming  a  part  of  a  militia  of 
which  the  Christians,  Yuan  Yu-hsiang  and 
Hsia  Chen-hsing,  were  the  leaders.  Passing 
themselves  off  as  Christians,  these  men  were 
highly  thought  of;  however,  they  committed 
all  sorts  of  disturbances,  killed  Wang  Chiang- 
pao  and  Tso  Yin-shu,  seriously  wounded  three 
other  persons,  and  carried  off  from  the  houses 
not  only  money,  but  also  all  the  objects  which 
they  contained,  even  down  to  the  very  cattle. 


Appendix  !!♦  217 

In  the  eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  T'ung  Chih 
the  Governor  of  Kwei-chow  again  warned  our 
Yamen  that  at  Tsun  Yi-hsien  a  petition  had 
been  addressed,  with  the  object  of  declaring 
that  some  rebels,  of  whom  the  leaders  were 
Sun  Yu-shan,  T'ang  Shen-hsien,  T'ang  Yuan- 
shuai,  Chien  Yuen-shuai,  had  embraced  the 
Catholic  religion,  and  that  they  still  continued 
within  and  without  the  town  to  stir  up  inde- 
scribable and  countless  disturbances  and  trou- 
bles. In  the  same  place,  also,  some  people 
named  Yang  Hsi-po,  Liu  Kai-wen,  Ching 
Hsiao-ming,  Ho  Wen-chiu,  Chao  Wen-an  had 
embraced  the  Catholic  religion,  and  were  even 
employed  in  the  interior  of  the  mission.  How- 
ever, outside  they  practised  all  sorts  of  exac- 
tions upon  the  orphans,  and  intimidated  those 
who  were  poor  in  spirit.  They  were  perpetu- 
ally to  the  Yamen,  and  undertook  to  regulate 
the  trials.  In  an  affair  between  a  Christian  and 
a  countryman,  if  the  mandarin  administered 
justice  to  the  latter,  they  collected  the  Chris- 
tians, invaded  the  Yamen,  and  forced  the  au- 
thorities to  reverse  the  sentences.  If,  in  spite 
of  that,   the    mandarin    would    not   give    the 


21 8  Appendix  !!♦ 

Christian  up  to  them,  they  returned  with  the 
card  of  a  missionary,  and  claimed  on  his  behalf 
the  liberty  of  their  friend. 

Besides,  they  committed  all  sorts  of  attempts 
upon  persons  and  properties;  if  resistance  was 
offered  them,  they  struck  blows  and  did  not 
even  fear  to  kill,  and  were  guilty  besides  of 
many  other  crimes. 

ARTICLE  7. 

The  missionaries  ought  to  observe  Chinese 
customs,  and  to  deviate  from  them  in  no  re- 
spect ;  for  instance,  they  ought  not  to  make 
use  of  seals,  the  use  of  which  is  reserved  for 
functionaries  alone.  It  is  not  allowed  them  to 
send  despatches  to  a  Yamen,  whatever  may  be 
their  importance.  If,  however,  for  an  urgent 
matter  it  should  be  absolutely  necessary  to 
write,  they  may  do  it ;  but  taking  good  care 
not  to  speak  of  matters  beyond  the  subject, 
and  making  use  like  people  belonging  to  the 
class  of  literates,  of  the  Ping-tieh  (petition). 
When  the  missionaries  visit  a  great  mandarin, 
they  must  observe  the  same  ceremonies  as 
those  exacted  from  the  literates ;  if  they  visit  a 


Appendix  IL  219 

mandarin  of  inferior  rank,  they  must  also  con- 
form to  the  customary  ceremonies.  They 
must  not  unceremoniously  go  into  the  Yamens 
and  bring  disorder  and  confusion  into  the 
affair. 

In  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  T'ung  Chih 
the  Governor  of  Sze-chuen  wrote  to  us  that 
the  French  Bishop,  Monseigneur  Pinchon, 
had,  in  a  letter  which  he  sent  to  the  authorities, 
made  use  of  an  official  seal  manufactured  by 
himself. 

In  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  T^ung 
Chih,  Monseigneur  Faurie,^  Bishop  of  Kwei- 
chow,  handed  to  the  officer  charged  with  the 
remission  of  the  letters  of  the  Government,  a 
despatch  to  the  address  of  the  Yamen  to  ask 
that  marks  of  distinction  should  be  accorded  to 
a  Taoutae  called  To  Wen,  and  to  other  per- 
sons besides. 

In  Shan-tung  a  missionary  passed  himself 
off  as  Hsiun-fu  (Provincial  Governor). 

In  Sze-chuen  and    Kwei-chow    missionaries 
took  upon  themselves  to  demand  the  recall  of 
mandarins  who  had  not  arranged  their  affairs  to 
1  Mentioned  as  Faure,  p.  86. 


220  Appendix  K 

their  satisfaction.  So  it  is  not  only  the  author- 
ity of  simple  functionaries  that  they  assume ; 
they  claim,  further,  a  power  which  the  Sover- 
eign alone  possesses.  After  such  acts  how 
could  general  indignation  fail  to  be  aroused? 

ARTICLE    8. 

Missionaries  shall  not  be  allowed  to  claim, 
as  belonging  to  the  church,  the  property  which 
it  may  please  them  to  designate;  in  this  way  no 
difficulty  will  arise.  If  the  missionaries  wish  to 
buy  a  portion  of  land  on  which  to  build  a 
church,  or  hire  a  house  in  which  to  take  up 
their  residence,  they  must,  before  concluding 
the  bargain,  go  with  the  real  proprietor  and 
make  a  declaration  to  the  local  authority  who 
will  examine  whether  the  Feng-shui  presents 
any  obstacle.  If  the  official  decides  that  no 
inconvenience  arises  from  the  Feng-shui,  it  will 
then  be  necessary  to  ask  the  consent  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  place.  These  two  formalities 
fulfilled,  it  will  be  necessary  besides,  in  the 
text  of  the  contract,  to  follow  the  ruling  pub- 
lished in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  T'ung- 
chih,  that  is  to  say,  to  declare  that  the   land 


Appendix  !!♦  221 

belongs  with  full  rights  to  Chinese  Christians. 
It  will  not  be  allowed  in  the  purchase  of  prop- 
erties to  make  a  transfer  making  use  of  another 
name  than  that  of  the  real  purchaser ;  it  will 
also  be  forbidden  to  make  this  transfer  in  man- 
ner contrary  to  law,  following  the  advice  of 
dishonest  people. 

The  missionaries  residing  constantly  in 
China  must  strive  to  inspire  confidence,  so  as 
not  to  excite  the  discontent  and  aversion  of  the 
people ;  but  on  the  contrary  to  live  on  good 
terms  with  them  without  ever  exciting  suspi- 
cion. At  this  moment  there  is  almost  always 
discord  between  the  two  parties,  and  the  cause 
of  it  is  the  conduct  of  the  Christians.  So  as 
regards  the  property  of  the  church,  there  have 
been  claims  during  these  last  years  in  all  the 
provinces,  and  the  missionaries  exact  the  res- 
titution, without  troubling  themselves  as  to 
whether  it  wounds  the  susceptibility  of  the 
people  or  is  injurious  to  their  interests.  Be- 
sides there  are  fine  houses  belonging  to  the 
literates  that  they  claim,  and  expel  the  pro- 
prietor from  them  at  the  shortest  notice.  But 
what  is  worst,  and  what  wounds  the  dignity  of 


222  Appendix  II* 

the  people,  is  that  they  often  claim  as  their 
property  Yamens,  places  of  assembly,  temples 
held  in  high  respect  by  the  literates  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood. 

Certainly,  in  each  province  are  houses  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Church;  but  note 
must  be  taken  of  the  number  of  years  which 
have  passed  since,  and  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  Christians  sold  these  houses,  and 
that  they  have,  perhaps,  passed  through 
the  hands  of  several  proprietors.  It  must 
also  be  remembered  that  the  house  was,  per- 
haps, old  and  dilapidated  when  sold,  and  that 
the  purchaser  has,  perhaps,  incurred  great 
expense  in  repairs,  or  has  even  built  a  new 
one.  The  missionaries  take  no  account  of 
all  this,  they  exact  a  restitution,  and  do  not 
even  offer  the  least  indemnity.  Sometimes 
they  even  ask  for  repairs  to  be  made,  or  if  not, 
for  a  sum  of  money.  Such  conduct  excites 
the  indignation  of  the  people,  who  look  with 
no  favourable  eye  on  the  missionaries.  Such 
being  the  case  no  friendship  can  exist. 

The  facts  that  are  stated  in  this  Memoran- 
dum   have   been    chosen  as    examples    among 


Appendix  II*  223 

many  others  to  demonstrate  what  is  irregular 
in  the  acts  of  the  missionaries,  and  to  prove 
the  impossibihty  of  Christians  and  non-Chris- 
tians Hving  harmoniously. 

It  is  urgent,  therefore,  to  seek  a  remedy  for 
the  evil ;  both  one  and  the  other  will  find  it  to 
their  advantage,  and  it  will  obviate  this  sole 
question  of  the  missions  becoming  fatal  to  the 
great  interests  of  peace  between  China  and  the 
West. 

We  do  not  attempt  to  enumerate  the  many 
matters  which  are  agitating  in  the  provinces. 
The  object  is  to  separate  the  tares  from  the 
good  grain,  to  punish  the  wicked  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  good.  With  respect  to  commerce, 
for  instance,  merchants  guilty  of  dishonesty 
are  severely  punished  in  order  to  protect  the 
honour  of  commerce  in  general.  From  the 
time  that  the  missionaries  admit  every  one, 
without  taking  care  to  distinguish  between  the 
good  and  the  bad,  these  last  pour  into  the 
Christian  community,  and  relying  on  the  sup- 
port of  the  missionaries  molest  people  of 
property  and  despise  the  authority  of  the 
magistrates.     Under  these  conditions  the    re- 


224  Appendix  U* 

sentment  of  the  multitude  grows  deep.  If 
the  entire  Chinese  people  should,  hke  the 
inhabitants  of  Tientsin,  come  to  detest  for- 
eigners, the  supreme  authority  itself  could  no 
longer  be  able  to  interpose  efficaciously.  Such 
are  the  dangers  which  the  present  situation 
implies. 

The  rules  which  we  now  propose  are  the 
last  expression  of  our  firm  will  to  protect  the 
missionaries,  and  have  nothing  in  their  import 
hostile  to  them.  If  they  sincerely  endeavour 
to  conform  themselves  to  them,  good  harmony 
might  be  maintained  ;  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  missionaries  consider  these  same  rules  in 
the  light  of  attempts  upon  their  independence, 
or  contrary  to  their  rites,  they  may  cease  to 
preach  their  religion  in  China.  The  Chinese 
government  treats  its  Christian  and  its  non- 
Christian  subjects  on  a  footing  of  perfect 
equality ;  that  is  the  evident  proof  that  it  is 
not  opposed  to  the  work  of  the  missions.  In 
return,  the  missionaries,  allowing  themselves 
to  be  duped  by  the  Christians,  do  not  adhere 
faithfully  to  their  duties.  From  this  state  of 
things    a    hatred    of  the    masses   must   result. 


Appendix  II*  225 

which  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  combat,  and 
a  general  overthrow  of  order,  which  will  make 
all  protection  an  impossibility.  It  would  be 
far  better  from  henceforth  to  speak  the  truth 
frankfully. 


APPENDIX   III. 


fM 


SUMMARY   OF   THE   CHING-SHIH-WEN- 
SHU-PIENS  OR   "BLUE   BOOKS." 

RELIGIOUS    PROPAGANDISM  :    ONE    OF    THE    MOST 

IMPORTANT     POINTS     AS     REGARDS     INTERCOURSE     WITH 

FOREIGNERS. 

Bj'  LI  PENG-YUAN. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  foreign  missionaries 
are  in  very  truth  the  source  whence  springs  all 
trouble  in  China.  Foreigners  come  to  China 
from  a  distance  of  several  ten  thousands  of 
miles  and  from  about  ten  different  countries 
with  only  two  objects  in  view,  namely  trade  and 
religious  propagandism.  With  the  former  they 
intend  to  gradually  deprive  China  of  her  wealth, 
and  with  the  latter  they  likewise  seek  to  steal 
away  the  hearts  of  her  people.     The  ostensible 

1  This  is  the  work  referred  to  on  pp.  64  and  137,  as  "^King- 
sz-wen." 

226 


Appendix  III*  227 

pretext  they  put  forward  is  the  cultivation  of 
friendly  relations ;  what  their  hidden  purpose 
is,  is  unfathomable,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
trouble  between  Christian  converts  and  the 
common  people  is  for  ever  cropping  up. 

Originally  the  nations  of  the  West  had  only 
one  religion,  that  of  Christ ;  but  this  one  reli- 
gion has  now  divided  itself  into  three  ;  that  of 
Jesus  (Protestants),  that  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven 
(Roman  Catholics),  and  that  known  as  "Hsila" 
(Hellenic  or  Greek  Church).  The  character- 
istic to  these  religions  of  theirs  is  that  whether 
united  or  divided,  whether  in  prosperity  or  in 
adversity,  their  missionaries  must  go  abroad 
throughout  the  world  and  endeavour  to  con- 
vert men  to  their  religion  and  lead  them  to  fol- 
low in  their  path.  Now  that  China  has  given 
permission  to  foreigners  to  proclaim  their  doc- 
trines she  must  according  to  treaty  extend  them 
her  protection,  but  wherever  missionaries  go 
they  ought  to  be  subject  to  the  local  authori- 
ties and  not  mix  themselves  up  with  public 
affairs.  It  is  unfortunately  the  case  that  evilly 
disposed  natives  of  China  constantly  rely  on 
the  protection  which  their  conversion   to   the 


228  Appendix  HI* 

foreign  religion  affords  them,  and  on  the 
strength  thereof  they  commit  every  kind  of 
base  and  illegal  action.  They  impose  on  the 
more  simple  minded  of  their  fellow  villagers, 
they  insult  and  oppress  the  orphans  and  the 
weak,  they  forcibly  abduct  the  wives  of  others, 
they  take  violent  possession  of  land  which  is 
not  their  own,  they  make  difficulties  about  pay- 
ing rent  due  to  their  landlord,  they  defiantly 
decline  in  open  court  to  contribute  their  pro- 
portion of  legal  taxes,  they  raise  a  quarrel  about 
some  public  matter  and  then  seek  to  throw  the 
blame  on  others,  and  on  account  of  some  pri- 
vate disagreement  they  go  even  to  the  length 
of  beating  and  murdering  peaceable  citizens. 
Every  sort  of  crime  can  be  laid  to  their  charge, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  draw  up  a  complete 
list  of  their  transgressions.  The  missionaries 
without  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  real  facts 
of  the  case,  and  deceived  by  their  ex  parte  state- 
ments, are  in  the  habit  of  coming  forward  as 
their  protectors  and  openly  assisting  them.  It 
often  happens  that  they  hide  away  the  defend- 
ant in  a  suit  in  order  that  he  may  not  appear 
in  court,  and  in  certain  instances  when  the  guilt 


Appendix  III*  229 

of  an  offender  has  been  conclusively  proved 
and  his  punishment  decided  on,  they  in  the 
most  public  manner  have  connived  at  his  get- 
ting away  to  a  foreign  country,  with  the  result 
that  he  is  not  to  be  had  and  the  case  remains 
in  abeyance. 

Many  officials,  moreover,  induced  by  a  dread 
of  complications,  act  from  the  beginning  with 
too  excreme  caution,  and  in  ignorance  of  for- 
eign laws  are  glad  to  compromise  a  case  any- 
how. The  result  is  that  justice  is  never  done, 
and  the  people  always  have  a  grievance.  Nat- 
urally, as  causes  for  complaint  accumulate,  the 
spirit  of  resentment  waxes  stronger  day  by  day, 
and  a  desire  for  revenge  is  created,  which  cul- 
minates in  the  destruction  of  Chapels  and  the 
ill-treatment  of  missionaries,  and  feuds  be- 
tween missionary  converts  and  their  neighbours 
go  on  increasing.  Although  of  course  the 
high  authorities  concerned  take  steps  to  arrange 
these  matters,  they  are  for  the  greater  part  far 
removed  from  the  scene  of  action,  and  but  im- 
perfectly acquainted  with  the  hidden  details ; 
and  as  it  often  happens  that  their  respective 
laws  differ,  each  holds  firmly  to  his   own  opin- 


230  Appendix  HI* 

ion,  and  the  settlement  of  the  case  becomes 
more  complicated  and  protracted.  They  {i.e.;, 
the  foreigners),  however,  are  in  the  habit  of 
resorting  to  force,  and  using  all  manner  of  in- 
timidation, press  their  point,  so  that  even 
after  the  principal  offenders  have  been  pun- 
ished, they  claim  compensation  for  the  de- 
stroyed property,  and  even  after  the  officials 
have  lost  their  posts  they,  on  the  strength  of 
these  occurrences,  clamour  for  the  opening  of 
more  ports  —  proceedings  contrary  to  all  prin- 
ciples of  right  and  justice,  and  utterly  opposed 
to  treaty  stipulations. 

The  nature  of  the  situation  calls  for  the 
adoption  of  some  satisfactory  agreement  to  be 
observed  by  both  sides  which  will  conduce 
towards  the  maintenance  of  peaceful  relations 
for  the  future. 

Now,  no  Chinese  subject  at  all  cognizant  of 
right  and  justice  or  in  any  way  imbued  with  a 
spirit  of  virtue  would  allow  himself  to  be  led 
away  by  these  doctrines  of  theirs.  Those  who 
do  become  converts  are  either  so  actuated  by 
mercenary  motives  that  they  have  lost  all  self- 
respect,  or  are  labouring  under  some  hallucina- 


Appendix  III*  231 

tion  which  they  have  not  been  able  to  throw 
off;  they  are  either  evilly  disposed  persons 
who  want  influence  on  their  side  or  criminals 
who  seek  to  escape  justice.  They  must  in  the 
first  instance  have  a  contempt  for  law  and 
order  ere  they  would  dare  to  rebel  thus  against 
reason  and  true  principles. 

Again,  although  the  missionaries  are  foreign- 
ers, their  converts  still  remain  Chinese  subjects, 
and  a  large  enough  concession  forsooth  has 
been  made  to  the  spirit  of  friendliness  and 
toleration  in  allowing  the  missionaries  to  carry 
on  religious  propagandism  at  all,  without  up- 
holding their  converts  against  the  rest  of  the 
people.  Surely  it  is  not  our  wish  to  first  force 
the  whole  nation  to  embrace  their  doctrines 
and  then  clap  our  hand  for  joy !  Such  a 
calamity  would  be  too  deep  for  words. 

For  the  future  the  name  of  every  convert 
should  be  entered  on  a  list  held  by  the  local 
authorities  and  communicated  to  the  Consul 
concerned ;  and  each  convert  should  have  the 
two  characters  "  Chiao-min  "  inserted  on  his 
"  men-p'ai,"  (i.e.,  the  slip  of  paper  on  each 
house   door  describing   the   inmates).      There 


232  Appendix  HI* 

should  also  be  some  distinction  of  dress,  and 
if  any  dispute  arise  it  ought  to  be  decided 
according  to  Chinese  law  by  the  local  authori- 
ties, the  Consul  sitting  as  assessor.  The 
missionary  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  protect 
the  criminal  in  any  way.  Should  the  defendant 
prior  to  his  being  arraigned  not  have  his  name 
on  the  list  above  mentioned  he  is  not  to  be 
considered  a  convert,  and  will  be  dealt  with  by 
the  local  authorities  as  they  see  fit,  the  mission- 
ary of  course  in  such  a  case  having  less  than 
ever  to  do  with  the  proceedings. 

Should  any  missionary  mix  himself  up  with 
any  public  matter  or  resort  to  intimidation  in 
any  way  some  severe  punishment  must  be 
meted  out  to  him,  and  his  Minister  be  imme- 
diately requested  to  have  him  sent  back  to  his 
own  country  ^^ four  encourager  les  autres" 


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